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Polish Briefing 19 October, 2020 8:30 am   
COMMENTS: Mateusz Gibała

Polish Briefing: Baltic Pipe delay in Denmark and nuclear energy ahead of Three Seas summit

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What goes on in Poland on the 19th of October.

Rains and coronavirus cause the Baltic Pipe delay in Denmark

The construction of the Baltic Pipe in Denmark is delayed by rains and the coronavirus. However, this delay will not affect the construction of the section for which the Poles are responsible.

The Danes report that the rainy months of the past months, combined with the pandemic, will delay investments planned for this year. Works on the island of Zealand are to be delayed. – Works related to the laying of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline in Zealand will take longer than originally planned. In order to avoid serious damage on the ground, works on some sections should not be completed until the summer of next year, says the Danish transmission network operator, who together with the Polish operator is responsible for the implementation of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline, which is to be completed in October 2022. Energinet points out that this complex investment requires precision, and large machines could cause disproportionate damage to the construction site. Construction work started a month later than planned due to the fact that Dutch contractor Energinet was delayed due to the coronavirus. Then there were technical challenges, especially in securing binders on gas pipes, which took extra time.

SMR from Synthos is playing for the nuclear power in Poland before the Three Seas summit

On October 19, the Three Seas Summit begins, which is to be an opportunity to conclude a Poland-US agreement preparing potential cooperation in the construction of a Polish nuclear power plant. Synthos and its partners promote the technology of small modular reactors.

On the eve of the Three Seas Summit, a conference organized by Fermi Energia GE Hitachi and Synthos was held in Tallinn, devoted to the use of small modular reactor technology to increase the energy security of the alliance’s countries. Poland is one of them. During the online event organized by Synthos and partners, the US ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher, spoke about the importance of energy for the security of the Three Seas Initiative.

Synthos and GE Hitachi argue that their reactor in the BWRX-300 technology may be approved for use by the end of the 1920s, and the regulator in Poland will certify it for a decade. Meanwhile, Poles want to build the first large-scale atom in 2033. However, the agreement with the Americans, according to the Polish Press Agency, is to oblige them to prepare an analysis of technological possibilities and a financial model that will allow to support the Polish project. Only then is the choice of a technology partner.