Nearly two decades after Poland set its sight on obtaining atomic energy, the government in Warsaw picked two separate foreign partners within three days to build its first nuclear power plants. The sudden rush in deal-making and unexpected changes of plans are prompting questions about how serious the government is about the endeavour that was meant to reduce the economy’s reliance on coal. The prospect of general elections late next year is further complicating the picture.
Meanwhile, Deputy Premier Jacek Sasin signed a preliminary agreement with the Korea Hydro utility for a separate plant, to be built outside the government’s nuclear programme, by the biggest state-run power producer PGE SA and billionaire Zygmunt Solorz Zak’s utility ZE PAK SA.First, it will be more costly to develop smaller projects. Westinghouse said the cost per unit for three reactors may be more than 10% higher than if the country chooses to build all six one by one.
Officially, the government said it first needs to select the location for the second three reactors before choosing the builder. The deal with Korea Hydro, on the other hand, is led by Polish companies, with the country’s authorities only providing support needed for a project on this scale.