PL
EN
What goes in Poland on 20th of September.
Another twist in the US-Korea nuclear dispute over Poland. What’s next?
The Court of the District of Columbia rejected the claims of the American Westinghouse on the transfer of technology by Korea’s KHNP as part of the NPP project in Pątnów. The Americans believe that the Koreans have no right to transfer technology to the Poles. However, there may be more to come.
The Korea JoongAng Daily reports that the court did not consider Westinghouse’s argument that the transfer of KHNP technology in the form of the APR1400 reactor to Poland required the approval of the US government due to the fact that it comes from Combustion Engineering, which Westinghouse had acquired in the past. The Koreans claim that their technology has been already “koreanized” and is developed on the basis of domestic resources, and therefore not subject to American export restrictions.
The court found only that the export restriction is the exclusive right of the US Attorney General and that a private company that is not part of the government has no legal basis to complain about KHNP’s actions. The Korea JoongAng Daily explains that the Americans can still complain about the violation of intellectual rights by the Koreans, so the dispute may continue, although Korean media suggested the possibility of a settlement. BiznesAlert.pl has learned that reportedly the United States insists that there were no talks about settling the dispute.
Westinghouse and Bechtel are to build the first power plant in Pomerania with Polish Nuclear Power Plants. The first reactor will be ready in 2033. KHNP is negotiating with Polska Grupa Energetyczna and PAK to build another one in Pątnów near Konin. The first reactor will be built in 2035.
Korea JoongAng Daily / Wojciech Jakóbik
Poland is negotiating financial support for its atomic project with the USA. The conversations with Americans are promising
The Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure of the Republic of Poland is visiting Brussels to discuss the financing model for Poland’s first NPP. She has reported the talks with the Investment Bank of America have been promising.
“The new power plant is an investment process on a scale previously unimaginable in Poland. At its peak, 8,000 people will work on the site and 50,000 people will be employed in the entire sector. We will spend hundreds of billions of zlotys to build this power plant,” said minister Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska in a video recorded on the occasion of the conference NuclearConference.pl.
“We need funding. We are going to Brussels to talk about a support system that will provide funding for the part with state guarantees and the part to which the budget will not contribute. We are in talks with financial institutions. The talks with EXIMBANK in the US are very promising. We will be back soon with more information,” she revealed.
“We are working to ensure there are enough Polish contractors and people from the scientific community,” the Minister said.
“We are at a very advanced stage of negotiations,” said Michał Wierzchowski, Director of Business Development at Polish Nuclear Power Plants about the talks with the Americans, during NuclearConference.pl. “We’re finalizing the key design contract. This is one of the conclusions of the analysis of foreign projects that had their challenges. We must first advance the design of the power plant so that we are sure what we want to build before we start construction,” he stated.
“We are preparing for geotechnical studies,” added Paweł Pytlarczyk, Director of the Nuclear Energy Department at the Ministry of Climate and Environment.
Poland wants to have the first AP1000 reactor from Westinghouse in 2033 and 6-9 GW of nuclear power in 2043. The project agreement with Westinghouse, Bechtel and Polish Nuclear Power Plants is being negotiated. The preferred location in Pomerania awaits an environmental and location decision.
Wojciech Jakóbik
The French want to build NPPs in Poland and add SMRs to the offer
France’s EDF is fighting to build an NPP at the second site in Poland and argues it could also construct small nuclear reactors.
EDF stated that its offer was still on the table and wanted to be a partner in the construction of an NPP in the second location of the Polish Nuclear Energy Program. The French also offered small nuclear reactors in the NUWARD technology.
“We are working on identifying locations for our projects and consolidating the business, which is promising, as well as identifying a funding and resource model,” said Thierry Deschaux, general manager of EDF’s Poland office, about the SMR offer during NuclearConference.pl in Warsaw. “EPR is the world’s largest 1,560 MW reactor designed for the highest operational efficiency and safety standards,” Deschaux said. He recalled that this technological solution has been certified in three EU countries and China.
Poland has chosen the American Westinghouse to build the first nuclear power plant in Pomerania. The fate of the second location is up in the air, but originally one contractor was supposed to provide both power plants. Warsaw is ready to negotiate.
Wojciech Jakóbik
Energy strategy update after the elections?
The Ministry of Climate and Environment wants the update of Poland’s energy strategy with a greater share of the atom to take place by the end of the year, that is, after the election scheduled for October.
“The plan for updating Poland’s Energy Policy Until 2040 includes a third scenario to expand the use of nuclear and renewable energy. It involves optimizing the energy mix by using the latest technologies,” recalled Paweł Pytlarczyk, Director of the Nuclear Energy Department at the Ministry of Climate and Environment, during NuclearConference.pl.
“The National Energy and Climate Plan is expected to be ready by the middle of next year. We want a ready version of the PEP2040 update to appear by the end of this year,” declared Pytlarczyk.
The Climate Ministry prepared a PEP2040 strategy update in the spring of 2023, which BiznesAlert.pl obtained. According to the draft, Poland will derive three-quarters of its energy in 2040 from nuclear and renewable energy. It also mentions small nuclear reactors. The PEP2040 update may imply changes to the Polish Nuclear Energy Program, which until now assumed 6-9 GW in nuclear capacity by 2043.
The parliamentary elections will be held on October 15, 2023.
Wojciech Jakóbik
