The United States is set to invest $1 billion into the construction of a large nuclear power plant in Poland following the agreement between the Polish KGHM mining company and American Nu Scale Power, Poland’s Minister of State Assets Jacek Sasin has revealed.
“The Polish program foresees that the first nuclear block of a large traditional nuclear power plant will be operational in 2033,” Sasin told Polish radio. “We are currently at the stage of selecting a financing model,” he added.
The minister explained that the Polish side had wanted the Americans to not only supply nuclear technology but capital. “I received such an assurance concerning the serious share of American capital. We are speaking of a sum of approximately $1 billion,” he said.
Sasin emphasized that such assurances concerning American funds were given during his meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
He added that a contractor will be chosen in 2022 and that it will be an American company responsible for delivering technology for constructing nuclear power plants in Poland.
The Polish Energy Policy to 2040 foresees the activation of the first nuclear power plant block of a power of between 1 to 1.6 gigawatts in 2033. Further blocks will be introduced every two or three years and the whole program consists of the construction of six blocks of a total power of 9 gigawatts.
Nevertheless, the announcement of the potential investment of a billion dollars may be nothing more than a drop in the ocean. The costs of building a large nuclear power plant are exorbitant.
The Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant which is currently being built in Somerset, U.K. is meant to cost around $30 billion. The new French power plant in Flamanville will cost up to $14.5 billion, and the Barakah power plant being built in the UAE, which comprises of four reactors, will cost around $32 billion.
At this time, it is difficult to foresee how much the Polish nuclear power plant will cost. In 2021, the Polish Economic Institute estimated, however, that the price of investment may amount to $26.2 billion.
