Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, Westinghouse and Bechtel have signed a contract to design the first nuclear power plant in Poland. According to the schedule, the construction of the power plant in the Choczewo municipality in Pomerania, in the area of Lubiatów and Kopalin, is expected to start in 2026, and the first unit with an electrical capacity of 1,250 MW is expected to start in 2033.

In December 2021, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe identified the coastal location of Lubiatowo-Kopalino in the commune of Choczewo as the preferred location for Poland’s first nuclear power plant, to be built using Westinghouse AP1000 technology and consisting of three units. The value of investments carried out in connection with the construction of the nuclear power plant in Pomerania is estimated at more than PLN 100 billion.

During the signing ceremony between the Polish Nuclear Power Plant and a consortium of Westinghouse and Bechtel, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that the construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant marks the beginning of a new energy era in Poland.

“We do not know the technologies that may come in the future, so we cannot risk the stability of the energy system based on unstable energy sources. The only pure, stable source of energy that is technologically proven and verified as safe today is nuclear power. Today, Poland is opening a new chapter in nuclear energy”, said the head of government.

The Westinghouse AP1000 technology is a nuclear power plant designed and marketed by Westinghouse Electric Company. The plant is powered by a pressurised water reactor with an improved passive nuclear safety system. The first AP1000 started operation in 2018 in China at the Sanmen nuclear power plant.

Poland’s first nuclear power plant was originally to be built in Żarnowiec. Construction began in 1982, but work was stopped in 1990 due to the Chernobyl tragedy and protests from environmentalists. There is currently one Maria research nuclear reactor operating in Poland at the Institute of Atomic Energy in Świerk.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński