“The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) will co-finance the construction of small nuclear power plants, SMRs, in Poland”, the deputy chairman of the NFOŚiGW board Artur Michalski announced at a press conference.
Determining the terms and conditions of cooperation in the construction of small modular nuclear power plants based on SMR (Small Modular Reactors) technology in Poland is the main objective of the cooperation agreement that was signed in Warsaw between NFOŚiGW and Orlen Synthos Green Energy.
The parties to the agreement will agree on the environmental objectives to be achieved, the economic model of the project and the timetable for its implementation, the business plan and the provisions of the investment agreement. The target is to build a network of environmentally clean SMR nuclear power plants with a total capacity of about 10,000 MWe in Poland between 2029 and 2036, with each small nuclear power plant consisting of at least one power unit with an electrical capacity of 300 MWe and a thermal capacity of 870 MWt. SMR power plants are tentatively planned to be built at 10 selected sites. The design life of each facility is 60 years.
Orlen Synthos Green Energy, with which NFOŚiGW has signed a cooperation agreement, is involved in the construction of small nuclear power facilities using GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 reactor. The company has the exclusive right to promote, offer and implement this technology in Poland.
An SMR nuclear power plant can be built in 24-36 months on a site representing only 10 % of a large nuclear power plant, with the so-called nuclear island itself taking up only the area of a football pitch. Due to the much smaller investment and the speed of construction of the BWRX-300 reactor from the modules, the programme of creating a network of small nuclear power plants is currently considered the most effective and fastest way to carry out the transformation of the Polish power and heating sector towards decarbonisation and achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Adrian Andrzejewski