The decision was announced by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki after a meeting of his Cabinet, state news agency PAP reported.
Poland’s first nuclear power plant to be built for $20 bn
Morawiecki told a news conference in Warsaw: “The government has adopted a resolution on the construction of nuclear power plants in Poland. The first nuclear facility will be built using US technology in cooperation with the American company Westinghouse Nuclear.”
He added: “With [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and the Kremlin blackmailing the whole of Europe, we must work with tried and tested partners. After four-and-a-half years of highly intensive work ... we have decided to choose US technology.”
The prime minister told reporters that the technology offered by America's Westinghouse “is the most advanced and has the best safeguards against potential threats.”
He revealed that Poland’s first nuclear power plant would be built "in the north of the country" and cost around USD 20 billion, the PAP news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Climate and Environment Minister Anna Moskwa specified that the plant "will likely be located near the villages of Choczewo and Żarnowiec in northern Poland.”
She told reporters that the government had agreed to build three reactors in northern Poland, with “construction set to start in 2026 and the first reactor to be ready in 2033.”
“Each nuclear power unit means up to 4,000 new jobs for engineers and technicians,” she said.
South Korea to help build Poland's second nuclear power plant
Meanwhile, Morawiecki announced that the government had also approved 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 Deputy Prime Minister Jacek 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.
They also inked a bilateral intergovernmental agreement to support the project, news agencies reported.
Poland to choose site for third nuclear station 'in coming months': PM
Morawiecki told reporters on Wednesday that the government was also ready for talks on developing "a third nuclear project in central Poland, with the exact location to be chosen in the coming months.”
He said: “There is definitely room for these three major projects in traditional nuclear energy.”
In addition to the two approved projects based on US and South Korean technology, Poland has received an offer for the construction of nuclear power plants from France’s EDF, the PAP news agency has reported.
‘Nuclear stations are a safety catch for Polish energy system’
Morawiecki told reporters that Poland "cannot rely on hydrocarbons from Russia in its energy policy, or on expensive hydrocarbons from around the world.”
He added: “We want to base our energy policy on our own sources, on renewables and on nuclear energy.”
"After Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, we must make decisions that will secure stable supplies of electricity for Polish citizens and companies," Morawiecki said. "Nuclear stations are a safety catch for our energy system.”
He added that “nuclear energy is clean, safe and cheaper" than alternatives.
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.
Wednesday was day 252 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
pm/gs
Source: PAP, rmf24.pl, niezalezna.pl
Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek.