Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) has submitted an application to the head of the Pomeranian Voivodeship for issuing a location decision for Poland's first nuclear power plant, to be built in the Choczewo municipality in the province of Pomerania.

How the plant in Pomerania could look (Image: PEJ)

The decision on determining the location of the investment in the construction of the nuclear power plant will be issued on the basis of the act of 29 June 2011 on the preparation and implementation of investments in the field of nuclear power facilities and accompanying investments, PEJ noted.

"It will provide PEJ with the right to the land necessary for the construction of the investment, both on land and at sea," the company said. "It will also specify the properties that will be covered by the investment, and specify the conditions for the implementation of the investment, including technical, environmental, conservation and fire protection conditions."

"The application for a decision on the location of the investment, submitted today, is a key milestone in the activities of Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe as part of obtaining all administrative approvals needed to start construction of the first nuclear power plant in Poland," said Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska, Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure. "The Polish government is responsibly rebuilding its energy mix and system, while strengthening the country's energy security. Consistent implementation of the Polish Nuclear Energy Programme brings us closer to the moment when the first nuclear power plant in the country starts operating and producing electricity in Pomerania, while providing Poles with emission-free, safe and stable energy."

Poland currently has large-scale plans to develop nuclear energy capacity. In September 2021, it was announced that six large pressurised water reactors with a combined installed capacity of 6-9 GWe could be built by 2040 as part of the country's plan to reduce its reliance on coal. According to the adopted schedule, the construction of the first nuclear power plant will start in 2026, with the first reactor - with a capacity of 1-1.6 GWe - being commissioned in 2033. Subsequent units will be implemented every 2-3 years. The coastal towns of Lubiatowo and Kopalino in Poland's Choczewo municipality in the province of Pomerania were named as the preferred location for the country's first large nuclear power plant.

In November 2022, the Polish government announced the first plant, with a capacity of 3750 MWe, will be built in Pomerania using AP1000 technology from the US company Westinghouse. An agreement setting a plan for the delivery of the plant was signed in May by Westinghouse, Bechtel and PEJ.

PEJ - a special-purpose vehicle 100% owned by the State Treasury - has already obtained a decision-in-principle issued by the Ministry of Climate and Environment confirming that the company's investment is in line with the energy policy implemented by the state. It is the first decision in the process of administrative permits for investments in nuclear power facilities in Poland that an investor may apply for. Obtaining it entitles the investor to apply for a number of further administrative arrangements, such as the location decision or construction licence.

PEJ has also obtained a general opinion confirming the correctness of the scope of verification of safety analyses provided by the National Atomic Energy Agency. The company said the environmental procedure aimed at obtaining a decision on environmental conditions is also "at a very advanced stage".

Last week, ZE PAK and Polska Grupa Energetyczna applied to the Ministry of Climate and Environment for a decision-in-principle on the construction of a nuclear power plant consisting of at least two South Korean-supplied APR1400 reactors in Patnow, in central Poland.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News