Poland Goes for Nuclear Power, Seeks Help To Build First Nuclear Complex

July 11, 2019, (EIRNS)—Poland’s Energy Minister Krzysztof Tchórzewski said on July 10 the country will need substantial investments from abroad to help build the country’s first nuclear power plant complex. Tchórzewski said earlier this year the country wants a nuclear unit with generation capacity of at least 1 GW in service by 2033, with other units with up to 9 GW of capacity in total by 2043.

The decision of Poland to enter the nuclear age is long overdue. In this light, an open letter by 90 Polish academicians recently urging Germany to keep its nuclear power and rather exit from coal, to meet the ambitious emissions obligations, has some relevance.

“Investors are needed for around $30 billion, however, this money would be provided over 20 years,” Tchórzewski told reporters July 10, elaborating on Poland’s nuclear power plans. He said the Polish government estimates the total cost of its nuclear power program at about $60 billion, explaining that Poland is looking for investors abroad, in addition to the U.S., with which Warsaw has a memorandum on energy cooperation.