Environmental report submitted for Poland’s first nuclear plant

According to PEJ’s March 30 announcement, the report is “a key document in the environmental impact assessment procedure, which in turn is part of the procedure for issuing the so-called environmental decision.”

In December 2021, the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in northern Poland near the Baltic coast, approximately 40 miles northwest of Gdansk, was selected as the preferred site for the plant, winning out over nearby Żarnowiec. Nonetheless, both locations were analyzed in PEJ’s March report.

Along with the environmental report, PEJ said, documentation for conducting a transboundary environmental impact assessment was also submitted.

Background: In February 2021, Poland’s Ministry of Climate and Environment announced the official adoption of the Energy Policy of Poland until 2040 (PEP2040), originally published in draft form in November 2018 and revised the following year.

In its announcement, the ministry described PEP2040 as “a clear vision of Poland’s energy transformation strategy” and “a compass for entrepreneurs, local governments, and citizens in the transformation of the Polish economy toward low emission.” By 2040, the document stated, more than half of Poland’s installed capacity will be zero-emission sources, adding that offshore wind energy and nuclear energy will play “a special role” in reaching that goal.

PEP2040 contains eight specific objectives, one of which is the implementation of nuclear power. According to the document, Poland will launch its first nuclear power reactor, with a capacity of 1.0 to 1.6 GW, in 2033. Additional units are to follow every two to three years after that. The nuclear program envisions the construction of six units by 2043.

The technology provider for the initial project has yet to be chosen. Contenders include Westinghouse Electric Company, EDF, and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power.