The Pomeranian Regional Office in Gdańsk supports the project of the first nuclear power plant and hopes for fruitful consultations with residents. The local government emphasizes that the investment is an opportunity for the development of the entire Pomerania.
On March 18, 2024, the Baltic Nuclear Energy Forum began in Gdańsk, and one of the topics was Poland’s first NPP. The plant is to be built in Pomerania where the construction of the first reactor is to start in 2026 and be completed in 2033. The government has stressed that investment in atom and renewable energy is the key to the country’s energy transition.
„We are talking about a nuclear power plant, offshore wind and photovoltaic farms. This is certainly a great opportunity for the development of Pomerania. However, it should be remembered that these investments will require more, including in the transmission infrastructure. They will be the driving force behind the region’s energy and heating transformation. The path to climate neutrality must be sustainable and evolutionary. In addition to energy security, which is the most important from the point of view of the geopolitical situation, there are also huge investment expenditures, and energy and heat costs are an important element of the budget of our residents. We need dialogue. We need to start a conversation with the language of benefits from the point of view of the inhabitants of our region,” said the Voivode of Pomerania Beata Rutkiewicz during the Baltic Nuclear Energy Forum in Gdańsk.
„Pomerania has the honor to be the region where the first nuclear power plant in Poland will be built, and I hope that there will be others that will forever change the economic characteristics of our region. It will add our region to the countries expanding their energy mixes,” she added.
According to the governor, the nuclear power plants and other energy investments based on non-fossil sources in our region will force the transformation of many economic entities. As a community, we see this as a big change. Smaller players will become part of the supply chain for these large investments. It is important to talk about nuclear energy and look at it as part of a larger puzzle across the country. I expect big changes in our region after this investment. I expect that this will be a driving force for the development of the entire region,” stressed Beata Rutkiewicz.
„Responsibility for our future requires finding an alternative to burning coal, and energy in Poland needs rebuilding. There is a real risk of energy shortages in the near future. Renewable energy, which the local government of Pomerania has always supported, will be important, but sources independent of weather conditions are needed, which include nuclear energy. The location of the power plant in the Pomeranian Voivodeship was confirmed by administrative decisions and an unambiguous position of the government,” said Mieczysław Struk, Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.
„As a local government, we take measures to prevent conflict situations. We want to prevent conflicts. I believe that those currently responsible for preparing investments will lead to a change in the approach to dialogue with local communities. We are very much counting on the support of the Climate Ministry,” he said.
Wojciech Jakóbik / Jedrzej Stachura