Today, the environmental decision for the first nuclear power plant has been issued. This is a very important document because it brings us closer to the construction of the atomic plant in Pomerania. The next stage will be the signing of a project agreement with Westinghouse and Bechtel.
The Ministry of Finance and Regional Policy held a conference on the progress in the construction of the first power plant in Poland.
According to the government, the construction phase will take place between 2027 and 2032, and testing and operation of the power plant will begin in 2033.
Importantly, on September 22, the Director General of Environmental Protection (GDOŚ) issued an environmental decision for Poland’s first nuclear power plant, planned at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino location.
GDOŚ also states that the operation of the power plant will not cause excessive emissions of gases and dusts into the environment, nor will it involve the introduction of excessive doses of radioactive substances into soil, water and air.
Moreover, the investment will not have a significant negative impact on Natura 2000 sites. It also stated that it would not degrade the status of natural habitats, the habitats of plant and animal species and the integrity of Natura 2000 sites or their links with other sites.
„Today we received the environmental decision on the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Poland. We want to produce electricity independently. Our electricity system needs to be rebuilt. Investments also in the form of offshore and installation ports will largely be located in Pomerania, which will make the region a new energy center of the country. In 15 years, the Polish energy system will be completely different than it is now,” declares Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure.
„The environmental decision is an extremely important element of the completion of the planning phase of the construction of the atom in Poland, as well as the completion of cross – border consultations, we held with our neighbors about the impact of power plants in the region,” says Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Climate and Environment.
„For PSE, Pomerania is a very busy area due to the NPP and offshore investments, which will entail a radical transformation of the power grid. We are preparing for a new type of energy source which is nuclear power, and we are also using the experience of operators from other countries,” says Tomasz Sikorski, President of the Board of PSE (Poland’s grid operator – ed.).
„We have made significant progress on the most expensive investment project in Poland. The decision implies our obligation to plant trees, protect beaches and the local environment,” emphasizes Mateusz Berger, President of the Management Board of Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ).
Nuclear energy is to be the future foundation of the Polish electricity system. PEJ, Westinghouse and Bechtel want to build three AP1000 reactors with the first one in 2033 at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in Pomerania. In addition, KHNP, PGE and ZE PAK want to build two APR1400 reactirs by 2036 in Pątnów, in Greater Poland.
Jacek Perzyński