Poland approves plan to build SMR nuclear units at six sites

The Polish government has approved the construction of 24 small modular reactors (SMR) at six sites around the country as part of a switch away from fossil fuels, officials said on Thursday. 

Photo:

Tennessee Valley Authority, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Polish Ministry of Climate and the Environment issued the decisions-in-principle early in the day, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

The SMR nuclear facilities will be built in Włocławek, Stawy Monowskie, Stalowa Wola, Ostrołęka, Nowa Huta and Dąbrowa Górnicza, according to a statement.

The projects will be carried out by Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE), a joint venture between Polish energy giant Orlen and chemicals company Synthos, the PAP news agency reported.

The six approved SMR nuclear units will feature "state-of-the-art GE Hitachi BWRX-300" technology, OSGE said on Thursday.

Budowa @gehnuclear BWRX-300 to nowe miejsca pracy, dodatkowe wynagrodzenia, wpływy z podatków. Eksperci z KPMG wyliczyli wzrost wartości dodanej brutto dla gospodarki w 🇵🇱 na 3,2 mld zł. Analiza dotyczy jednego, referencyjnego reaktora. pic.twitter.com/iZUwNXu2Cs

— ORLEN Synthos Green Energy (@ORLEN_Synthos) September 13, 2023

Orlen CEO Daniel Obajtek welcomed the government's decision, saying on social media that the SMR units would ensure "low-cost energy and heat" for Polish households.

.@MKiS_GOV_PL wydał decyzję zasadniczą dla lokalizacji małych reaktorów atomowych. Tym samym mamy zielone światło do budowy SMRów w Polsce, z których pierwszy powstanie do 2030 roku. To bardzo dobra wiadomość dla Polaków i polskiej gospodarki, bo SMRy to gwarancja taniej energii…

— Daniel Obajtek (@DanielObajtek) December 7, 2023

OSGE plans to deploy Poland's first small reactors by 2030.

The Polish government has said it is aiming to speed up the phasing out of coal and plans to build renewable and nuclear power infrastructure to address challenges related to climate change and ensure stable power supplies, the Reuters news agency reported.

(pm/gs)

Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters