According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, changing the location would mean starting the entire process from the beginning, including research that had been ongoing since 2017, i.e. delaying the entire investment by up to 10 years. The Ministry recalled that the research resulted in the investor, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, obtaining an environmental decision and, as a result, a location decision. The multidimensional environmental studies that preceded them, the implementation of which is required by law in the case of nuclear projects, covered 32 thematic areas, including geology, seismics, hydrology and demography – noted the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
As a result of the research, the company prepared an environmental report, which was submitted to the General Director of Environmental Protection in 2022. In September 2023, the company obtained an environmental decision. The decision was consulted for the time required by law, both with 14 countries under the Espoo Convention (cross-border consultations) and as part of national consultations, the ministry recalled.
It also noted that on July 11, 2023, the Minister of Climate and Environment, at the request of Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, issued a basic decision which formally confirmed that the investment in the first nuclear power plant in Poland is consistent with the public interest and the policy implemented by the state, including energy policy. This document authorizes Polish Nuclear Power Plants to apply for further administrative decisions and a subsequent building permit in the location indicated in the decision.
PEJ received the environmental decision for the construction and operation of a nuclear power plant with a capacity of up to 3,750 MWe in the Lubiatowo-Kopalino location from the General Director of Environmental Protection on September 19, 2023. On October 26, 2023, the Pomeranian Voivode issued a decision on determining the location of the investment. Thanks to the decision to determine the location, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe received the right to use the area for preparatory work and construction of the facility, as well as the subsequent operation of the nuclear power plant – recalled the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
“The environmental decision for the location in Lubiatów has been issued, but…”
On Wednesday, “Dziennik Bałtycki” reported that the new Pomeranian voivode, Beata Rutkiewicz, said that “the environmental decision for the location in Lubiatów has been issued, but we are still considering whether it was right. There are also different opinions about the selected technology. The coming months will be decisive.” Later, the voivodeship office published the voivode’s statement, in which Rutkiewicz emphasized that no decision had been made to change the location of the nuclear power plant in Pomerania, and the final decisions regarding the location would be made by the government in due time, after detailed analyses.
On January 8, 2024, PEJ announced that the location decision had obtained final status, pursuant to the decision of the Minister of Development and Technology, which closes the appeal process against the location decision and ends the stage of consideration of the case by public administration bodies.
