Poland accelerates preparations to build its first nuclear power plant (opinion)

In the report, experts rated the state of readiness highly in the regulatory, social and political areas, while in their view, acceleration is needed in preparations in the technological, investment and systemic areas, especially when it comes to attracting qualified staff.

"Polish regulations reduce the overall level of risk associated with the construction and operation of nuclear power plants, which is significant from the perspective of planning and obtaining financing for these projects," assessed the partner leading the sustainability and energy transition team at Baker McKenzie consultancy in Warsaw Agnieszka Skorupinska, quoted in the press release on the report.

"However, there are still issues that may require legislative solutions, such as the functioning of insurance pools, strengthening local content requirements at the ordering stage, or determining the method of calculating local content. The latter issues are particularly important because the construction and operation of a nuclear power plant represent an opportunity for the development of the Polish economy and technology transfer," she added.

As the experts pointed out, the social factor does not constitute an obstacle to beginning the construction of a nuclear power plant in Poland.

A high level of support for the project is partly the result of recent events, particularly Russia's invasion of Ukraine and recurring discussions about the need for national energy independence. However, it is necessary to monitor changes in social moods, including the scale of the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) phenomenon. Public support for the construction of a power plant decreases in its immediate vicinity, when compared to the level of support across the country at large.

In the context of investment readiness, experts estimate that the signing of a contract for the comprehensive construction of reactors on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis may be delayed and will occur only in 2028 or 2029, which is three years later than the originally planned date.

"The signing of the EPC contract for the comprehensive execution of the investment and the commencement of the preliminary design and complete design stages, during which the project will be further detailed, may only take place after the current preliminary design work is completed," Skorupinska said.

"The contract itself will be subject to lengthy negotiations, given the need to properly address the interests of both parties and minimise risks related to the investment's timely completion," she added.

According to the authors of the report, a longer timeframe should also be assumed for obtaining the European Commission's approval for granting state aid in connection with the investment, because although the Commission is obliged to give an answer within 18 months of the notification, with such complex projects it usually takes longer.

The experts also pointed out that there is a lack of plans for contracting other components for power plants, which have a long production process.

However, according to the experts, the shortage of qualified personnel is the main system barrier hindering the construction of nuclear power plants in Poland and their future operation.

At the same time, they noted that Poland's state-owned SPV Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe (PEJ) responsible for the investment in the Choczewo municipality has entered into agreements with universities whose graduates will be able to staff the power plant and public administration teams in the coming years.

In their view, the creation of extensive associated infrastructure, including a Marine Off-Loading Facility (MOLF) or power derivation structure, will also be key to the success of the investment.

The EJ1 plant is to have three reactors built with AP1000 technology from the US company Westinghouse, with a total capacity of 3.75 GW. In its notification application to the European Commission, the government set the cost of the investment at PLN 192 billion (EUR 45.7 bln), of which around PLN 60 billion (EUR 14.3 bln) is to be in the form of a direct capital injection into PEJ from the State Treasury.

jz/ nl/ ao/