Reactor technology provider not yet confirmed
Poland’s nuclear project company Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) could be ready to announce two potential sites later this year for the construction of a second commercial nuclear power station.
Michal Wierzchowski, PEJ strategy director, told the European Nuclear Young Generation Forum 2023 in Krakow that an announcement could be made in the third or fourth quarter of 2023.
In November 2022, Warsaw said it had chosen US-based Westinghouse Electric to supply its AP1000 reactor technology for the country’s first three-unit nuclear power station at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site near the Baltic coast in Pomerania.
The technology provider for a proposed second nuclear power station under the government’s 2020 nuclear programme has not yet been confirmed.
Speaking about the AP1000 project in Pomerania, Wierzchowski said the nuclear plant’s design maturity is of primary importance. He said the design must be “100% ready before starting construction”, meaning there will be no problems related to design adjustments in the course of the project.
He said having an established dialogue and clear cooperation with Poland’s nuclear regulator before start of construction is also crucial.
Learning Lessons From US Vogtle Project
One potential source of challenges related to the project could be the readiness of the supply chain and labour availability. According to Wierzchowski, PEJ is working with US-based utility Southern Nuclear to learn lessons from the Vogtle-3 and -4 nuclear plant project in the US state of Georgia, where two Westinghouse AP1000 units are nearing commercial operation.
He said PEJ is continuously working to develop its operational capabilities. It has begun cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and is planning to join the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) nuclear safety organisation.
Wierzchowski said PEJ needs to design contractual arrangements with suppliers for its new-build project in such a way that they can “survive” all sorts of unexpected “force majeure” circumstances. He said past examples were the war in Ukraine and Covid-19 and their impact on global supply chains and prices.
Under a 2020 nuclear programme, Poland has ambitious plans to build from 6,000 to 9,000 MW of installed nuclear with commercial operation of a first nuclear unit in a proposed set of six is planned for 2033, with the rest to follow throughout the 2030s and into the early 2040s.
