Contract signed for the first nuclear power plant in Poland

The contract was signed at a special ceremony in Warsaw attended by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski.

The agreement was signed by PEJ CEO Mateusz Berger, Westinghouse CEO Patrick Fragman and John Howanitz of the Bechtel company.

"We have ambitions to rebuild the entire Polish nuclear sector. Today we are attracting specialists from all over the world," said PM Morawiecki. "This Polish-American friendship, which is cemented today by the Nuclear Power Plant, is developing on many levels. It is a multi-faceted cooperation that gives a boost to the development of Poland as a whole. We will thus be a security provider for other countries as well," he added.

"Under the contract, in cooperation with Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, Westinghouse and Bechtel will design the first nuclear power plant in Poland," PJE said in a press release.

"The design/engineering documentation includes the main components of the power plant, i.e. the nuclear island, the turbine island and the associated installations and auxiliary equipment, as well as administrative buildings and infrastructure related to the safety of the facility," the company added.

"The primary objective of the conceptual design/engineering is to define the requirements and design/engineering criteria, and specify norms and standards in accordance with which the Polish nuclear project will be executed. The engineering work at this stage will result in more than 400 final deliverables."

The company also informed that "a similar AP1000 reactor, which is referential for the Polish project, is already in operation in the United States".

"Six units of this type operate around the world and more such units are being built in China. The Polish nuclear power plant will be based on the latest experience of Westinghouse and Bechtel, resulting in particular from the construction of Vogtle Unit 4, which introduced improvements over the previously commissioned Unit 3," we read.

"Experienced employees executing the project in the U.S. will also be involved in the activities for the planned power plant in Pomerania. The engineering services will focus on bringing the design in line with technical and regulatory requirements in Europe and Poland," PJE added.

"The establishment of a nuclear culture in Poland means new opportunities for the whole country, we want to introduce the best models," said Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure.

Mateusz Berger, President of the Management Board of Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, called the deal "a watershed moment not only for our investment project, but also for the entire energy transition process in Poland."

"Today's event concludes the planning stage of the nuclear power plant and commences the execution phase with relevant engineering work," he added.

U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski called the contract "one of the most significant steps forward to date in U.S.-Polish civil nuclear cooperation".

"I commend the Polish government and the companies involved in the project for their focus in seeing this effort through to this critical point. This is not just a commercial venture - our hope is to support Poland as it becomes a hub for civil nuclear technology deployment. Energy security is national security, and America’s security is interdependent with Poland’s security," he added.

According to theThe Polish Nuclear Power Programme, the first nuclear reactor will start producing energy in 2033.