Poland has sealed a deal with American companies to move on to the next stage of plans to build the country’s first nuclear power plant.
The engineering development agreement between the state-owned nuclear energy company Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) and the Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium means that the plans for a power plant in Lubiatowo-Kopalino on the Baltic coast are a step closer to reality.
Enhanced geological research will now be undertaken at the site, and authorities will be able to start the process of seeking administrative approvals and licenses for the project.
“The signing of the so-called bridging agreement opens the next stage of our cooperation, which will allow for the effective implementation of the design process and, later, the construction of this facility, which is key to our energy security,” said Wojciech Wrochna, an official at Poland’s Industry Ministry.
The 3,750 MW plant, which will consist of three units, is estimated to have a total cost of about 192 billion złoty (€46 billion). The first unit is earmarked to be under construction by 2028, with commercial operations scheduled to begin in 2036.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the deal had been renegotiated under his government—which came into power in late 2023, after the nuclear plans had been announced—so that it was more beneficial to Poland.
Enhanced geological research will now be undertaken at the site, and authorities will be able to start the process of seeking administrative approvals and licenses for the project.
“The signing of the so-called bridging agreement opens the next stage of our cooperation, which will allow for the effective implementation of the design process and, later, the construction of this facility, which is key to our energy security,” said Wojciech Wrochna, an official at Poland’s Industry Ministry.
The 3,750 MW plant, which will consist of three units, is estimated to have a total cost of about 192 billion złoty (€46 billion). The first unit is earmarked to be under construction by 2028, with commercial operations scheduled to begin in 2036.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the deal had been renegotiated under his government—which came into power in late 2023, after the nuclear plans had been announced—so that it was more beneficial to Poland.
He claimed that certain punitive clauses, such as potential fines for not sticking to planned timescales, had been removed from the agreement.
“We want to have good relations with the Americans, but we do not want Poland to lose out,” he commented.
The deal will come into force once approved by the companies involved.
In late March, President Andrzej Duda approved a cash injection of over 60 billion złoty (€14.3 billion) into PEJ, which will cover around 30% of the cost of the overall nuclear plant project. The rest is expected to be obtained primarily from foreign financial institutions.
The project is dependent on the European Commission agreeing to the state’s involvement in the venture. Authorities in Brussels have opened an investigation into whether the plans are in line with EU rules.
It will be Poland’s first foray into nuclear power since it abandoned the construction of its Soviet-era plant in the coastal village of Żarnowiec in the 1980s in light of the Chernobyl catastrophe and the imminent collapse of the USSR.
“We want to have good relations with the Americans, but we do not want Poland to lose out,” he commented.
The deal will come into force once approved by the companies involved.
In late March, President Andrzej Duda approved a cash injection of over 60 billion złoty (€14.3 billion) into PEJ, which will cover around 30% of the cost of the overall nuclear plant project. The rest is expected to be obtained primarily from foreign financial institutions.
The project is dependent on the European Commission agreeing to the state’s involvement in the venture. Authorities in Brussels have opened an investigation into whether the plans are in line with EU rules.
It will be Poland’s first foray into nuclear power since it abandoned the construction of its Soviet-era plant in the coastal village of Żarnowiec in the 1980s in light of the Chernobyl catastrophe and the imminent collapse of the USSR.
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