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Special act on nuclear power to be amended
Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa said that work was underway on an amendment to the nuclear law. “In July 2023, we want to adopt a draft of a more comprehensive amendment to the investment in nuclear energy law, which is to simplify and accelerate investments in large and small atom,” she told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
PAP asked Moskwa if there would be a separate law on small modular reactors (SMR). The Minister said that the July amendment would also facilitate SMR projects. “We are working on the draft amendment with all market participants,” she stressed.
In mid-March, President Andrzej Duda signed an amendment to the Act on Investments in Nuclear Energy Facilities. “The amendment to the act on the preparation and implementation of investments in nuclear power facilities provides for the expansion of the catalogue of investments accompanying the construction of nuclear power plants, in particular those necessary for conducting environmental and location studies for the construction of the power plant itself and associated infrastructure,” PAP wrote.
After the amended Investment Act entered into force in April 2023, the Polish Nuclear Power Plants (PEJ) submitted to the Ministry of Climate and Environment an application for a decision-in-principle for the first nuclear power plant with a capacity of up to 3750 MWe specified in the Polish Nuclear Power Programme (PPEJ) in the following municipalities: Choczewo, Gniewino or Krokowa.
At the end of April, Orlen Synthos Green Energy, which is to build small nuclear reactors (SMRs) using the American BWRX-300 technology, also submitted applications for a decision-in-principle for the first locations of its power plants (Wloclawek, Stawy Monowskie near Oświęcim, Ostrołęka, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Kraków Nowa Huta, Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone and Stalowa Wola).
KGHM also wants to invest in SMRs. It wants to team up with America’s NuScale Power. In April 2023, the copper giant filed an application for a decision-in-principle on this issue.
In November 2022, the Polish government decided that the technology for the first power plant under the PPEJ will be provided by the American company Westinghouse, and the power plant would be built in Pomerania. The Program provides for the construction of two power plants in two different locations. According to government plans, the first unit of the power plant is expected to start in 2033.
The second large-scale nuclear power project is a commercial project for the construction of a power plant in Pątnoów based on the Korean technology – APR 1400. In the fall of 2022, PAK, PGE and the Korean KHNP signed a letter of intent on developing a plan for the construction of the power plant. In April 2023, PGE and ZE PAK announced the establishment of PGE PAK Nuclear Energy, which will, together with its Korean partner, build a nuclear power plant in the Konin region.
Polish Press Agency / Jędrzej Stachura
Germany’s RWE is willing to develop Polish offshore farms in the Baltic
RWE, which is implementing an offshore wind farm project in the Baltic Sea, is looking for more development opportunities in the offshore sector in Poland. In a press release the company said it was open to strategic partnerships.
The Baltic Sea in the near future will become a new energy center of Poland due to the favorable conditions for the construction of offshore wind farms. The first wind farms will be connected to the national energy system and will generate electricity in 2026. It is estimated that the capacity potential in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea can reach up to 33 GW.
Recently, the Ministry of Infrastructure has decided on the location of offshore wind farms in the second phase of the Polish program. Five permits each went to Polish groups: PKN Orlen and PGE.
“We understand the results of the second stage of the procedures for granting location permits for offshore wind farms. We want to look to the future now. We are exploring opportunities to achieve project synergies and thereby increase our participation in the further development of the offshore sector. That is why we are open and ready to establish cooperation and enter into partnerships in Poland,” said Grzegorz Chodkowski, vice president of Offshore Development Poland at RWE.
The German company is implementing the F. E. W. Baltic II project off the Polish coast with a capacity of 350 MW. In 2021, the Energy Regulatory Office granted the right to cover the negative balance, subject to approval by the European Commission. The seabed survey has been completed. The project has received an environmental decision for the offshore wind farm area and is at an advanced stage in the process of obtaining the remaining necessary decisions and administrative permits.
RWE is a German energy company based in Eseen, in the west of the country. The company actively implements zero-emission energy projects in Europe, as well as in Poland, i.e. onshore wind, offshore wind and photovoltaics.
Polish Press Agency / Jacek Perzyński
PGE and Ørsted ink a deal to connect their offshore project to the grid
PGE Group and Ørsted, a Danish energy company, have signed an agreement with a consortium of SEMCO Maritime and PTSC Mechanical & Construction to design, manufacture and operate offshore power stations for the Baltica 2 project. “Four stations will be built, each equipped with two transformers. They will collect electricity generated by wind turbines and export it to the mainland,” the press release said.
“The agreement on offshore power stations for Baltica 2 is another contract under the project. The project is gaining momentum and has clearly entered the phase of finalizing the next important contracts necessary for the implementation of the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm. The substations will be delivered for Baltica Stage 2 with a capacity of approx. 1.5 GW to be put into operation by 2027. Our goal is to build new, green generation capacities in the Baltic Sea with a total capacity of 2.5 GW by 2030, which is of great importance for strengthening Poland’s energy security,” said Wojciech Dąbrowski, president of PGE.
“The signing of the contract for offshore transformer stations is an important milestone in the project, which brings us closer to the implementation of the largest RES project in the history of Poland – an offshore wind farm capable of producing green energy in an amount that will meet the current demand of approx. 2.4 million Polish households. We are pleased to entrust the SEMCO Maritime and PTSC Mechanical & Construction Consortium with the design, production and commissioning of the power station for the first phase of the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm,” said Agata Staniewska – Bolesta, Managing Director of Ørsted Offshore Poland.
Ørsted and PGE plan to complete the Baltica 2 stage with a capacity of approx. 1.5 GW by the end of 2027, while the Baltica 3 stage with a capacity of approx. 1 GW by the end of 2029. Both stages of the IMF Baltica have location decisions (PSD), environmental decisions, contracts with the Transmission System Operator for connection to the network, permits for laying and maintaining cables (PUUK), as well as the right to a contract for difference (CfD) and decisions on the individual level of support issued by the European Commission and the President of the Energy Regulatory Office.
Polska Grupa Energetyczna / Jędrzej Stachura
