Poland officially picks US Westinghouse as its NPP project partner
The Polish government adopted a resolution on building large-scale nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Poland confirming the choice of US firm Westinghouse as the technology provider for the country's first NPP, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has announced.
"After 4-5 years of very intensive work we decided to select the US technology for the first location in northern Poland," Morawiecki told a press conference on Wednesday.
"We must rely on proven technologies, but also on proven partners," he added.
The first NPP will be built in Lubiatowo-Kopalino, a coastal location in the north of Poland, and will, according to Morawiecki, cost around USD 20 billion.
He added that financing for this first stage of the Polish nuclear energy programme is secured.
Morawiecki also said that Poland has room for two other NPPs. "We are ready for another project... to be run by (Polish - PAP) private entrepreneurs with the participation of the State Treasury and in cooperation with a Korean entrepreneur, KHNP," the prime minister said.
"At the same time, I want to signal our readiness for the third project in central Poland, whose exact location will be selected in the coming months," Morawiecki added.
Under the Polish government's energy strategy, Poland is seeking to build six nuclear power units with a total capacity from 6 to 9 gigawatts (GW). The first reactor should start working in 2033, generating some 1-1.6 GW of power. Subsequent reactors would be constructed every two years.
