On October 19, in Tallinn, within the framework of the Three Seas Initiative summit, US Energy Secretary Dan Bruyette is to sign a Polish-American partnership agreement on the development of a nuclear energy program.

This was announced by the head of the Chancellery of the President of Poland Krzysztof Sczerski.

His statement was published on the website of the head of state.

On the Warsaw side, the document will be signed by the Polish government's plenipotentiary for strategic energy infrastructure Piotr Naimsky.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the procedure will take place in video format.

It is expected that this agreement will become a legal platform for the development of a project for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Poland.

It provides for the preparation by Warsaw and Washington within 18 months of a report for the Polish government to make the final decision on the selection of the contractor and financing options.

“During this time (18 months -

RT

), leading American civil nuclear energy companies will carry out preparatory and design work for the construction of nuclear power plants in Poland.

At the same time, representatives of both governments, together with American financial institutions, will prepare options for financing the program, ”said Krzysztof Szczerski.

The topic of the nuclear power plant was discussed at the talks between Polish President Andrzej Duda and the head of the White House Donald Trump at the end of June this year.

The two leaders agreed to open a new chapter in cooperation "in the energy sector, entering into a partnership aimed at developing the civil nuclear energy sector in Poland."

Limited collaboration

Today Poland, along with the Baltic states and other European states, does not use atomic energy.

Although in 1983, not far from Gdansk, construction began on a four-unit Zharnovets nuclear power plant based on Soviet VVER-440 reactors.

The total capacity of the facility was to be 1,760 MW.

However, in 1990, due to the collapse of the socialist system, the construction of the station was stopped.

Today, of the nuclear infrastructure facilities in Poland, only the National Center for Nuclear Research and one research reactor "Maria" function. 

The issue of building a nuclear power plant in Poland came up on the agenda due to the closure in 2009 of the Ignalina nuclear power plant located in Lithuania.

Vilnius took such a step under pressure from the EU, which is focused on the development of the so-called green energy.

Initially, it was assumed that the construction of the nuclear power plant will be dealt with by the Polish Energy Group (PGE).

In 2013, Warsaw hoped to find a foreign partner to provide technological assistance, and in 2015 - to start construction of the station.

The Zharnovets NPP was considered as one of the locations.

The Polish leadership hoped that the first unit would be launched in 2020.

However, these plans were not implemented.

According to experts, the main reason for the disruption of the initial schedule was the economic difficulties of Warsaw.

The construction of a nuclear power plant, according to analysts, requires the attraction of tens of billions of dollars and significant intellectual resources.

In addition, as the deputy director of the Institute of National Energy Alexander Frolov noted in an interview with RT, Warsaw was unable to attract a foreign partner to the project in a timely manner.

Today, as follows from official statements, Poland has chosen the United States.

One of the key partners of Warsaw should be the American government Finance Corporation for International Development.

On June 23, before the meeting between Duda and Trump, a representative of the US presidential administration told reporters about this.

However, as a White House spokeswoman explained, current legislation does not allow the Financial Corporation to participate in the implementation of nuclear projects in foreign countries.

Therefore, this institution is now working to remove legal barriers. 

In October 2020, the Polish government passed a decree to renew its nuclear power program.

The amendments provide for the construction of two nuclear power plants, including a total of six nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 6-9 GW.

Nuclear power plants are to be erected at intervals of six years.

In 2021, Warsaw should choose the technology on the basis of which the projects of the two nuclear power plants will be implemented.

In 2022, it is planned to determine the construction site of the first object.

  • Andrzej Duda at a meeting with Donald Trump at the White House

  • AFP

  • © POOL / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA

In May 2019, on the air of Polish Radio, the Minister of Energy of Poland Krzysztof Thuzewski announced that the first station could appear in the Pomeranian Voivodeship.

In order to prepare for the construction of a nuclear power plant in this region, a joint-stock company PGE EJ 1 has already been established.

It is assumed that the construction of the first power plant will begin in 2026, and the second in 2032.

According to preliminary estimates of the Polish government, the implementation of these projects requires about € 25-30 billion.

According to the forecast of Peter Naimsky, in the first half of the 2040s, the share of the republic's nuclear energy will be about 20% of the total generation.

At the same time, Poland does not intend to completely abandon the consumption of non-environmentally friendly coal.

"At the expense of the European Union"

According to experts, in the absence of adequate relations with Moscow, the option of building a nuclear power plant is for Warsaw virtually no alternative way to provide the country with electricity.

Earlier, Warsaw refused from Russian gas and the purchase of electricity from the Belarusian nuclear power plant, which is being built in the Grodno region with the technological support of the Russian Federation.

The commissioning of the first block of the Belarusian station is scheduled for 2021, the second - for 2022.

“In principle, the creation of an NPP can be called a rational decision.

Poland needs nuclear energy.

In addition, it will allow replacing part of coal-fired power plants.

However, the choice of Warsaw in favor of the United States raises questions, since now in the field of nuclear energy, the United States is seriously inferior to Russia, France and South Korea, ”stressed Alexander Frolov.

According to the expert, Warsaw does not have enough of its own funds to build nuclear power plants, so it will have to turn to the EU for financial assistance.

“Considering that the Polish economy, in fact, is subsidized and depends on injections from the European budget, we have before us a very peculiar project (construction of a nuclear power plant. -

RT

), within which the United States wants to support its own nuclear energy at the expense of the European Union,” says Frolov.

In turn, the leading analyst of the National Energy Security Fund Igor Yushkov doubts Poland's readiness to bring the NPP projects to practical implementation.

In his opinion, the United States is artificially hindering the start of work, counting on the conclusion of new contracts for the export of expensive liquefied gas.

“It is not known whether a nuclear power plant will be built in Poland, since no practical steps have been taken so far.

In fact, the United States is interested in creating the possibility of American gas passage deep into Eastern Europe, and for Poland to consume as much American gas as possible, ”Yushkov said in a commentary to RT.

  • Polish coal thermal power plant

  • Reuters

  • © Kacper Pempel

The expert drew attention not only to Warsaw's lack of sufficient funds for the construction of two nuclear power plants, but also to the uncertain situation with a foreign sponsor.

As the interlocutor of RT believes, Poland's desire to acquire nuclear power plants will cause serious friction with its EU partners.

Yushkov believes that a compromise with the European Union on the construction of a nuclear power plant is possible only if Warsaw refuses to use coal generation, but the country's government is not going to take such a step.

The expert also pointed out the absurdity of the accusations of Poland and Lithuania in relation to the nuclear power plant under construction in Belarus.

In June, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, at a meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart Saulius Skvernelis, supported the claims of Vilnius against Minsk, which relate to alleged non-compliance with safety standards during the construction of the nuclear power plant. 

“Instead of solving real problems, Poland, together with Lithuania, criticizes the project of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, which is being built on the basis of the most modern Russian technologies.

Warsaw and Vilnius blindly scold everything that is connected with the successor of the USSR.

This is undoubtedly a hypocritical policy against the background of a desire to acquire our own nuclear power plant, ”Yushkov summed up.