When will the Polish nuclear power plant be operational?
As Wrochna pointed out, the PPEJ update is in the final stage of preparation and should be published at the beginning of 2025. It assumes that the commercial operation of the next two units of the first power plant located in Pomerania will start in 2037 and 2038. Other dates to be included in PPEJ update, is the handover of the construction site to the contractor in 2025 and the permit for the construction of a nuclear energy facility and the commencement of actual work in 2028
As Wrochna added, the government hopes to obtain the consent by the end of this year European Commission opening decision on the application for notification of state aid for the first power plant. This will allow for the initiation of a dialogue on the aid system for the first power plant, which is also a condition for concluding an EPC contract with contractors, the representative noted. He emphasized that practice shows that notification processes take about a year and a half, which means that the EPC will be concluded in the second half of 2026 at the earliest.
How much will a nuclear power plant cost?
According to him, the project of the first power plant does not yet include exact costs, only their estimates, and for now there is an idea for financing, which would involve financing the project largely from the budget. To close the financing, we need to reach an agreement with the banks and we need to know the support system, he added. If we solve everything optimally, the price of energy from the nuclear power plant will be competitive – said the representative.
The second power plant
Wojciech Wrochna emphasized that the selection of a partner for the second nuclear power plant under the PPPP must take place in a competitive procedure. As he noted, in this case “we do not see the possibility of the state providing tens of billions of zlotys as a capital contribution.”
“We see the need for a different approach to the selection of a strategic partner. To select a supplier, general contractor and more elements of the financial offer at once. We are talking about capital participation, but today we are not talking about its exact level, although with the reservation of a majority share on the Polish side,” he said. Director of the Department of Nuclear Energy at the Ministry of Industry, Paweł Gajda.
He added that four “post-coal” locations are currently being considered for the second power plant. They fit the needs of the system well, ensure new investments after the shutdown of coal-fired power plants and ensure the presence of competent service companies, he explained. “The selection probabilities for each of these four locations are different,” Gajda noted.
The “draft” schedule for the second power plant currently envisages starting an initial dialogue with potential partners and announcing the terms of the competitive procedure in 2025, selecting a partner, including technology, in 2026, finalizing the business model in 2027, and starting construction in 2032 .
More projects
Government representatives also did not assess that w in the perspective of 2050, more nuclear capacity will be needed than 6-9 GW included in today’s version of PPEJ, but it is too early to say what it will be supplemented with – whether SMR reactors or something else. How much nuclear capacity will ultimately be included in the Polish system will depend on the answer to how to finance it and what the effective price of energy will be, Wrochna noted.
The current version of the Polish Nuclear Energy Program (PPEJ) from 2020 assumes the construction of two nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 6-9 GW by a 100% owned company. to the State Treasury, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) as an investor and operator. (PAP)
