Poland to commission first nuclear unit in 2036; plans second plant

Poland plans to commission the first unit of the country's first nuclear plant in 2036, the government's strategic energy infrastructure adviser said Dec 11.

Wojciech Wrochna said at a news conference in Warsaw that an updated Polish Nuclear Power Program will be published next month that will include commissioning of the second unit in 2037 and the third a year later.

In September, PEJ, the Polish state company responsible for the plant investment, signed an 18-month engineering services contract with Westinghouse and Bechtel to design the 3,750-MW plant, comprising three AP1000 reactors in Choczewo, Pomerania, northern Poland.

The government has estimated the total cost of the plant at Zloty 150 billion ($37 billion). Thirty percent of the cost, Zloty 60 billion, will be equity provided by the government and 70% will be debt financing. The government is expected to approve legislation to enable the state support early next year, Wrochna said.

PEJ expects credit institutions, including the US Export-Import Bank, to provide the debt financing for the investment.

Once operational, Poland plans to subsidize the plant through a contract for difference process that settles any difference between a predetermined strike price and the market price of electricity.

Wrochna said he expects the European Commission to begin proceedings to approve Poland's preferred financing model for the plant by the end of December.

The updated PPEJ maintains plans to build a second plant in another location. It envisages selecting a technology vendor in 2026 and starting construction of the first of three units at the second plant in 2032.

The first unit is scheduled to be ready in 2040, the second in 2041 and the third in 2042 to enable the whole plant to be commissioned by 2043.

Wrochna said the technology vendor for this plant would be chosen after a competitive tender and said talks with potential partners would start next month.

The Ministry of Industry's nuclear power director, Pawel Gajda, said during the news conference that four potential locations for the second plant are under consideration, including "post-coal" sites.

Gajda said the decision on the location for the second plant would likely be taken together with the technology vendor.

Wrochna said the partner for this plant would be expected to provide equity for the investment, but the Polish state would hold the majority stake.