Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 2 next)
In November of 2022, the Polish government chose Westinghouse for the country’s first nuclear power plant. In February, PEJ and Westinghouse signed a Bridge Contract. This covers work in ten main areas which include development of a detailed delivery model, preparation of a security assessment and quality program, and identification of potential suppliers with a focus on Polish companies. Westinghouse will draft a list of requirements necessary for the execution of the investment. This includes adjusting the AP1000 technology to meet all the local regulations. The contract also assumes that the preparations of the principles of external financing for the project will be carried out.
At the same time, Poland’s ZE PAK, Polska Grupa Energetyczna and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power have signed a Letter of Intent to cooperate on a nuclear power project in Patnow, in central Poland. They will be assessing the viability of building South Korean APR1400 reactors on that site.
Mateusz Berger is the Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure. He said, “The implementation of the Polish Nuclear Power Program is one of the greatest challenges Poland has faced in recent decades, both in terms of complexity and the competencies it demands. submission of an application for the decision-in-principle for the construction of the first nuclear power plant marks an important stage showing the maturity of the project implemented in Pomerania”.
Orlen Synthos Green Energy announced that it had reviewed “tens” of potential sites in Poland for the construction of SMRs. It has shortlisted the seven best locations for further geological surveys.
The selected locations include Ostrołęka, Włocławek, Stawy Monowskie, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Nowa Huta, Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone and Warsaw. The company said that these locations have “high energy-intensive production plants, as well as locations that are optimal for heating system purposes”.
The company said that “Once the ongoing surveys and preliminary consultations with local governments are completed, over the next two years Orlen Synthos Green Energy will thoroughly analyze the possibility of building the first small modular block near seven locations.”
Daniel Obajtek is the CEO and President of PKN Orlen. He said, “By 2030, we plan to build at least one modern and completely safe nuclear block in Poland. “We have picked several dozen potential sites for this strategic project. We see a lot of interest from local governments, which are aware of the associated benefits. In the first stage, we selected seven most promising sites. However, since approval from the local communities is of fundamental importance to us, an open dialogue with residents will be key in making the decision on final locations.”
In December of 2021, GE Hitachi, BWXT Canada and Synthos Green Energy (SGE) signed a Letter of Intent to cooperate in the deployment of BWRX-300 SMRs in Poland. Orlen Synthos Green Energy is a joint venture between chemical producers SGE and PKN Orlen. They submitted an application to Poland's National Atomic Energy Agency on July 8th last year for the assessment of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300. It holds the exclusive rights for these SMRs in Poland.
The announcement of the site selection came as two U.S. government institutions stated that they would provide four billion dollars of financial support in the implementation of the BWRS-300 in Poland.
The Export-Import (EXIM) Bank is the U.S. official export credit agency. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is the country’s development bank. Mark Brzezinski is the U.S. Ambassador to Poland. He said that the two agencies have signed Letters of Intent declaring three billion dollars and one billion dollars, respectively, to finance the construction of the first two power plants to be developed by Orlen Synthos Green Energy