Agreement signed on second Polish nuclear power plant

Poland's Ministry of Energy, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe and Polska Grupa Energetyczna have signed an agreement defining the division of tasks and principles of cooperation in preparing the ...

In September 2021, it was announced that six large pressurised water reactors with a combined installed capacity of 6-9 GWe could be built by 2040 as part of the country's plan to reduce its reliance on coal.

According to the adopted schedule, the construction of the first nuclear power plant would start in 2026, with the first reactor - with a capacity of 1.0-1.6 GWe - being commissioned in 2033.

Subsequent units would be implemented every 2 to 3 years.

The Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Choczewo municipality in Pomerania in northern Poland was selected as the preferred location for the country's first large nuclear power plant, which will have a capacity of 3,750 MWe, using Westinghouse's AP1000 technology.

An agreement setting a plan for the delivery of the plant was signed in May 2023 by Westinghouse, Bechtel and Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ).

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2028.

Work has now started on the second nuclear power plant, with Bełchatów and Konin the preferred locations.

PEJ - a special-purpose vehicle 100% owned by Poland's State Treasury - is to be the investor and coordinator of the second nuclear power plant project, while state-owned power company Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) will prepare site analyses and preliminary feasibility studies in collaboration with potential technology suppliers, according to a new agreement signed by the Ministry of Energy, PEJ and PGE.

The document introduces the assumptions of the updated Polish nuclear power programme, adopted by the Council of Ministers on 29 September.

"The cooperation is intended to ensure the effective use of the resources and experience of both companies and to improve investment preparation, also through appropriate coordination of activities at the government administration level," the Ministry of Energy said.