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The last few days have brought a slew of news about the atom and the prep for the construction of the first, second, or even third NPP in Poland. The post-Easter week, despite being shorter (the Monday after Eastern Sunday is a bank holiday in Poland – ed.), has seen a heap of news about Poland’s nuclear projects.
Location?
We started our work week on Tuesday, April 11, and that’s when we reported that Poland has identified 27 potential nuclear power plant locations, including recommended ones and a back up. The list includes 27 potential sites: Żarnowiec, where Poland’s first NPP was supposed to have been built in the 1980s, Warta-Klempicz as the location for the second NPP, and eight back-up locations from the 1980s. The document recommended conducting detailed location studies in Żarnowiec, and in three other places: in Klempicz on Lake Kopań, and in Nowe Miasto near Płońsk in Masovia.
The list of proposed locations also includes Gąski by the seaside, eight places near Szczecin, including five on the Oder River, Tczew, Chełmno, Nieszawa, Karolewo, Kozienice, Chotcza, Gościeradów and Połaniec by the Vistula River, Małkinia and Wyszków by the Bug River, Bełchatów and Pątnów. In the latter location, ZE PAK, PGE and KHNP plan to build their own NPP. In turn, according to the government, later this year a short list of three locations for the second power plant under the Polish Nuclear Power Plan Program (PPEJ) will be revealed.
An invite from the big guys
The same day, a few hours later, Orlen invited journalists to a press conference, which will be held on April 17. The group is expected to present a strategy for the development of small nuclear reactors, including potential locations. It will have a strategic dimension also from the point of view of the state. This is because according to information acquired by BiznesAlert.pl, SMRs have been included in the update of Poland’s Energy Policy Until 2040 (PEP2040). The new version of the document is to be adopted by a government resolution at one of the upcoming meetings, but is being blocked by a dispute within the United Right (governing coalition – ed.) over the share of coal in the energy mix.
The update of PEP2040 is expected to state that Poland should have 300 MW in nuclear power in 2030. This is new from the point of view of the Polish Nuclear Power Program (PPEJ), which states that in 2043 Poland will have 6-9 GW in nuclear power. This means that the first reactor will be built before the end of this decade and will reach a capacity of 300 MW. The only technology that can offer such capacity is the BWRX-300 from GE Hitachi, which cooperates with Orlen and Synthos. PKN Orlen argues that the first reactor of this type will be built in Poland in 2029, and therefore in accordance with the proposed update of the energy strategy.
Poland and USA
On Tuesday news from across the ocean arrived. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visited Washington, and one of the topics of talks with Vice President Kamala Harris was the financing of the first nuclear power plant in Poland. “One of the projects I discussed with Vice President Kamala Harris was the nuclear energy project. In this case, the presence of American investors is particularly strong and particularly important,” said the head of the Polish government quoted by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Next year Poland is expected to present a financing model for the Polish nuclear power plant, which will be built by Polish Nuclear Power Plants (PEJ), Bechtel and Westinghouse in AP1000 technology so that the first reactor will launch in 2033.
Westinghouse pledged support to the tune of PLN 100 billion for the entire Polish Nuclear Energy Program, that is, in the case of the construction of two power plants with three reactors with a total capacity of 7,200 MW. However, Warsaw has signalled being opened to talks with other potential partners about the second location. It is considering France’s EDF and the Korean KHNP.
One, two and … three
On Thursday, it became clear that Poland may have not one, two, but maybe even three nuclear power plants. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State Assets Jacek Sasin said Poland was capable of achieving it by 2040.
“The Poland’s Energy Policy Until 2040 – which is a strategic document, and the government is just in the home stretch of finalizing changes in it – provides that by 2040 we will have three large-scale nuclear power plants. Two government ones and a private one,” Sasin old the Rzeczpospolita daily.
PGE PAK Nuclear Energy
On April 13, the founding ceremony of PGE PAK Energia Jędrowowa took place. Polska Grupa Energetyczna and ZE PAK established a 50/50 joint venture, which will hold negotiations with Korea’s KHNP on the construction of 2 to 4 APR1400 reactors in Korean technology in Konin/Pątnów.
The location has yet to be determined. The atom, built in cooperation with ZE PAK and the state-owned PGE, is to be an extension to the government project, i.e. two nuclear power plants with one in Pomerania using the technology of the American Westinghouse AP1000. Poland’s first reactor is to be constructed in 2033 by the sea, and if the Ministry of State Assets’s ambitious plan comes to fruition, the Korean project will launch in 2035.
Application for a green light
On 13 April PEJ filed a request for a decision-in-principle with the Ministry of Climate and Environment for the first nuclear power plant in Poland to be built in Pomerania. “This has been done at the earliest possible date, after the update to the so-called Special Nuclear Act – Act on the Preparation and Implementation of Investments in Nuclear Facilities and Accompanying Investments has entered into force. The decision-in-principle will formally confirm that the investment in Poland’s first nuclear power plant is in line with the public interest and the policies pursued by the state, including energy policy. The decision will also empower the investor, Polish Nuclear Power Plants, to apply for a number of further administrative decisions, including a location decision and later a construction permit,” PEJ explained.
“The submitted application includes a description of project characteristics, indicating the maximum total installed capacity, the planned lifetime and detailing the technology to be used in the construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant. The description provided is in line with government documents, including the resolution of the Council of Ministers of 2 November 2022, recognizing the need to build a nuclear power plant with a capacity of up to 3750 MWe in the area of the communes of Choczewo or Gniewino and Krokowa and based on US AP1000 reactor technology,” PEJ stated. “An important element of the application for the decision-in-principle is the justification of the importance of the implementation of this project for securing the electricity demand in Poland. The rationale also emphasizes the compatibility of PEJ’s project with strategic government documents, including Poland’s Energy Policy until 2040 and the European Union’s climate policy,” PEJ explained.
Copper’s SMR
We closed the atomic week with news from KGHM. The copper giant has submitted an application to the Ministry of Climate and Environment for a decision-in-principle on the construction of a small modular nuclear power plant (SMR) in Poland. We learned that until the administrative procedure is completed, KGHM will not provide information about the progress of the procedure and the details of the application
The company is involved in the development of nuclear energy in Poland, i.e. construction of small modular nuclear reactors (SMR). In 2022, the company signed a preliminary agreement with the American company NuScale Power, LLC (a nuclear technology provider), which is the first step in the process of implementing SMR technology as part of a business.
Jędrzej Stachura
