Westinghouse Electric Company has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with ten Polish companies for cooperation on the potential deployment of AP1000 nuclear power plants in Poland and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe.
Westinghouse Poland President Miroslaw Kowalik (standing centre) with representatives of some of the companies signing MoUs (Image: Westinghouse)
The MoUs - signed in both Gdańsk and Westinghouse's office in Warsaw - include cooperation on the possible construction of six AP1000 plants for the Polish nuclear power plant programme.
The agreements are for cooperation with engineering and construction firms Rafako, KB Pomorze and Polimex Mostostal; steel companies ZKS Ferrum, Mostostal Kraków, OMIS and Zarmen Group; shipbuilder GP Baltic; power generator manufacturer Fogo; and crane manufacturer Protea Group.
"Westinghouse is well positioned to help Poland meet its energy goals through in-country investments in nuclear technologies, our global shared services centre in Krakow where nearly 200 employees work to support the company's global operations, and to provide Poland with the best technology to support its climate change goals and secure the energy needs of its economy," said Miroslaw Kowalik, President of Westinghouse Poland.
In July last year, Westinghouse announced the launch of front-end engineering and design (FEED) work under a grant from the United States Trade and Development Agency "to progress" the nuclear energy programme in Poland. Westinghouse said the FEED was one of the key elements in the implementation of the Intergovernmental Agreement between Poland and the USA regarding cooperation to develop a civil nuclear power programme.
Westinghouse is executing the FEED - which will be based on AP1000 technology - together with Bechtel Power Corp. The FEED study will be reviewed later this year by the Polish government to help in its selection of the best partner for the nuclear power plant programme.
The diplomatic notes Poland and the USA exchanged in 2020 on cooperation in the development of Poland's civil nuclear power programme officially entered into force in March 2021. This means the USA has 18 months from that date to prepare both a technology and a financing offer to build nuclear power plants in Poland.
Poland's Energy Policy for 2040 is based on three pillars: a just transition; a zero-emission energy system; and good air quality. The first 1-1.6 GWe nuclear unit is to be commissioned in 2033, with five more units, or 6-9 GWe, to follow by 2040. The seaside towns of Lubiatowo and Kopalino in Poland's Choczewo municipality have been named as the preferred location for the country's first large nuclear power plant.
