Westinghouse Electric Company and Bechtel said they welcome the announcement by the Polish government of its intention to allocate PLN60 billion (USD15.7 billion) to fund the country’s first nuclear power plant.

Craig Albert and Patrick Fragman at the Choczewo site, where geological surveys are currently under way (Image: Bechtel/Westinghouse)

Undersecretary of State for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Maciej Bando announced the start of the formal process to request European Commission approval of the financing at the 2nd Congress of Nuclear Energy in Warsaw on 11 September. "This week I will sign an official request to the European Commission, starting the notification process," he said. The government is working on legislation to allow it to "inject" funds into state-owned company Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe (PEJ), which is in charge of overseeing the building of the nuclear plant.

The Polish government selected the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology for construction at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Choczewo municipality in Pomerania in northern Poland in 2022, and an agreement setting a plan for the delivery of the plant was signed in May last year by Westinghouse, Bechtel and PEJ. The Ministry of Climate and Environment in July issued a decision-in-principle for PEJ to construct the plant, and the company has applied for a permit to start preparatory works at the site. The aim is for Poland's first AP1000 reactor to enter commercial operation in 2033.

The government's announcement of its intention to allocate funds to the plant came as Bechtel and Westinghouse were meeting with key stakeholders in Warsaw and Gdansk to showcase project progress and reaffirm their commitments to economic development and community engagement, the companies said.

"With the AP1000 design, Poland has selected the most advanced, proven technology already setting operational records in six operational units with another 12 planned to operate before the end of the decade," Westinghouse President and CEO Patrick Fragman said. "This project will drive more than 100 billion zloty of economic impact in Poland, creating tens of thousands of jobs during construction and the many decades of operation to come."

Bechtel President and COO Craig Albert said the "historic" project will strengthen Poland's energy independence "while also creating enormous economic opportunity, including new jobs, the training of a skilled nuclear power workforce, and the establishment of a supply chain with substantial participation by Polish companies".