London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Poland gives details on $20B nuclear power bid

Poland gives details on $20B nuclear power bid

Westinghouse of the US gets the nod to build the country’s first nuclear power plant.
U.S. nuclear power technology provider Westinghouse will build Poland’s first reactor by 2033, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Wednesday.

“We assume the overall cost at around $20 billion,” he told reporters, adding: “The upfront capital investment is big but once a nuclear power plant is operational, the cost of generating electricity is relatively low.”

Poland is looking at nuclear power to reduce its dependence on coal, which still accounts for around 70 percent of the country’s energy mix. That also dovetails with an effort to end reliance on Russian coal, oil and gas.

“The need to become permanently independent of energy supplies and energy carriers from Russia is linked to the need to accelerate investment in the construction of Poland's first nuclear power plant,” the government said in a decree approved Wednesday.

Poland is one of the few countries in Central Europe with no nuclear power sector; an effort to build a power plant in the 1980s was thwarted by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and by Poland’s financial woes.

Warsaw’s nuclear plans are ambitious. The official strategy assumes building six reactors in two locations by the mid-2040s but Morawiecki said a third location is not out of the question.

On top of the government program with Westinghouse, there is a parallel business-led effort with South Korea. Poland’s utilities ZE PAK and PGE signed a letter of intent Monday with Korean company KHNP to analyze a power plant that would be built in central Poland.

The Westinghouse power plant will be built in Choczewo on Poland’s Baltic Sea cost, around 80 kilometers northwest of Gdańsk.

The exact location will be pinpointed once the project secures an environmental permit, Climate and Environment Minister Anna Moskwa told the same briefing.

The goal is to begin construction by 2026 and to start operations in 2033.

Although he sketched out the possible scale of the investment, Morawiecki didn’t provide more details on the financing of what will be one of Poland’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.

“We have financing secured for the current early stages of the project. The bulk of the money will be needed later on and there are several ways of securing it,” he said.

If all of the plants being talked about get built, nuclear power could supply about supply 30 percent of Poland’s energy mix, Moskwa said.

“A strategic partnership with the U.S. to build the first nuclear power plant is a civilizational leap for us to strengthen energy security,” she tweeted.

The three bidders for nuclear projects in Poland were Westinghouse, KHNP and France’s EDF.

Poland also plans to develop offshore wind power in the Baltic Sea as well as onshore wind, solar power and biomass — potentially cutting coal’s share in the country’s energy mix to an estimated 11 percent to 28 percent, according to the country’s energy transition strategy.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×