PGE power recommends Belchatow to government as location for Polish 2nd nuclear power plant

Marzec said that the company is in talks with the government and is recommending to it that the vicinity of Belchatow and the conventional assets that will undergo the energy transition be considered and analysed in the context of the location of the second stage of the construction of Polish nuclear power plants.

Dariusz Marzec pointed out that the Belchatow mine has been in operation for 50 years and has made a huge contribution to the development of the Polish economy and the supply of electricity to Poles.

"It is the largest lignite mine in the country and, together with the power plant operating here, will be needed in the Polish electricity system for at least a dozen more years," PGE's CEO told a press briefing.

"We are talking to the government and recommending to the government that Belchatow should be one of the locations analysed very seriously regarding the location of the second nuclear power plant in Poland, to be built next after the power plant in Choczew," he said.

Marzec added that this had already been the subject of discussions with the government's plenipotentiary for strategic energy infrastructure, deputy industry minister Wojciech Wrochna.

PGE's CEO noted that locating a nuclear power plant in Belchatow would mean the continuation of energy activities in the region for decades to come.

"Here are the people, here are the energy competences, here is the tradition and the energy infrastructure. There are very many things that are necessary to locate this kind of generation sources here and we strongly believe that all these elements should be taken into account," Marzec assessed.

In November, nearly 30 trade union organisations from the Belchatow and Turow mines and power plants appealed to Prime Minister Donald Tusk to act in favour of the construction of a nuclear power plant in the Belchatow area.

PGE GiEK's (PGE's mining and conventional energy unit) CEO Jacek Kaczorowski admitted on Wednesday that the future of the Belchatow complex could be centred around renewable and nuclear energy.

"I appeal to those in power to support and act for a just transition. I appeal to the trade unions to continue to engage in dialogue. I appeal to all of us to remember that transformation must not come at the expense of social peace," Kaczorowski said during the celebration of Miners' Day in Poland.

The current version of the 2020 Polish Nuclear Power Programme (PPEJ) envisages the construction of two nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 6-9 GW by the 100 percent state-owned company Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe (PEJ) as investor and operator.

The previous government named the Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium as the partner for the first power plant. It is to be built at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino location in Pomerania.

The Ministry of Climate and Environment announced an update to PPEJ later in 2020. The programme is to include the construction of SMRs in Poland.

bap/ pad/ osz/ ao/ han/