Piotr Naimski, the government plenipotentiary for strategic energy infrastructure, told the lower house of parliament, the Sejm, that Poland needs nuclear because energy from renewable sources alone cannot ensure security.
His comments came during a debate on proposed legislation related to the environmental impact of new nuclear. The new legislation will pave the way for Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ), the company charged with managing the nuclear power project, to submit a report on the impact of the project on the environment to the General Directorate for Environmental Protection (GDOŚ).
Mr Naimski said the report is almost ready to be submitted to the GDOŚ and the amendment will allow environmental authorities to consider it on the basis of updated regulations, not outdated regulations drawn up from a few years ago.
Poland wants to build from 6,000 to 9,000 MW of installed nuclear capacity based on large-scale, pressurised water nuclear reactors of Generation III and III+ designs. Commercial operation of a first unit in a proposed set of six is planned for 2033.
The Polish government has said no decision has been made on the technology and it is ready to review offers.
In July, French state-controlled energy group EDF said it had opened an office in Warsaw to support the preparation of a nuclear offer using its EPR technology.
In September, Westinghouse opened a global shared services centre in Krakow, where about 160 staff will work to provide Poland with “the best technology to support its climate change goals and secure the energy needs of its economy”.
PEJ recently announced a site in the northern province of Pomerania near the Baltic coast had been selected as the preferred location for Poland’s first commercial nuclear power station.
The site, Lubiatowo-Kopalino, in the coastal commune of Choczewo, was chosen on the basis of “detailed site investigation and environmental surveys conducted on a scale unprecedented in Poland”.