Jacek Sasin made the declaration in an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio.
Poland to have two nuclear power plants by 2033
The deputy prime minister, who is also Poland’s minister of state assets, told Polish Radio: “Today the government will officially approve the strategic partner for the Poland’s first nuclear station, to be built under the governmental programme, and as Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has announced, it will be the US nuclear energy company Westinghouse.”
Sasin added: “Another advanced nuclear power plant will also be constructed in Poland, so around 10 years from now we’ll have two nuclear stations in the country.”
He was referring to a Polish-South Korean project to build a nuclear power plant at Pątnów in south-central Poland.
On Monday, the state-run Polish Energy Group (PGE) and Polish energy producer ZE PAK signed a letter of intent with South Korea’s state-owned energy company KHNP on developing plans for the construction of that facility, according to officials.
Poland’s Sasin and South Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee-Chang Yang were present as the document was signed in the South Korean capital Seoul, and struck a bilateral intergovernmental agreement to support the project, news agencies reported.
'Cheap, safe and dependable electricity for Polish families'
Referring to the Polish government’s plans to build nuclear power plants with US and South Korean partners, Sasin told Polish Radio on Wednesday: “This is excellent news, because it means cheap, safe and dependable electricity for Polish families.”
Sasin said that while Poland’s first nuclear station, based on US technology, would be "financed from the public purse," the Polish-South Korean project would be funded entirely from "non-budgetary resources."
He stated: “I received a pledge from the government of South Korea that our partner will not only supply reactors, the technology which we don’t have in Poland, but it will also make a capital investment.”
Under Monday’s letter of intent, the Pątnów facility will feature South Korea’s advanced APR-1400 nuclear power reactors, with a feasibility study for the project expected to be completed by the end of this year.
'We are already planning a third nuclear station'
According to Sasin, the two nuclear power plants, slated for launch in 10 to 11 years, “are still insufficient if Poland is to renounce coal and gas.”
He said in the interview: “We are already planning a third nuclear station, under the governmental programme. In the immediate future, a location will be named for the project and we’ll initiate the process for selecting a partner.”
Poland has also received an offer for the construction of nuclear power plants from France’s EDF, the PAP news agency has reported.
Poland's Climate and Environment Minister Anna Moskwa said in October that 2026 was "a realistic date for launching the construction of the first nuclear reactor” in Poland.
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Source: PAP, forsal.pl