“Construction could begin as early as December” – Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on December 9 last year, referring to Poland’s first nuclear power plant. However, construction has not started. In March, an application for a permit is planned to be submitted to the National Atomic Energy Agency. Only next year will the investor submit an application for a building permit. A final execution contract with Westinghouse Electric Company has also not yet been signed. The agreement is still under negotiation. If everything goes well, the first works will begin in 2028, which means that Donald Tusk has already delayed the project by two years.
At the beginning of January, 92 percent of Poles supported the construction of a nuclear power plant in the country. Prime Minister Donald Tusk aligned himself with this trend several months ago and now claims that a reactor in Pomerania must be built as soon as possible. However, this was not the case at the start of his term. During his first public appearance after the 2023 elections, he did not give a clear answer. At the time, he believed that relocating the project to Żarnowiec should be considered.
Leading representatives of the Pomeranian branch of Civic Platform (PO) also hesitated on the issue. Voivode Beata Rutkiewicz reportedly questioned the construction of the plant, as reported by the Dziennik Bałtycki. The investment is also opposed by a regional Civic Platform (PO) figure, Mieczysław Struk.
“When I say that today we are the largest energy construction site, I am referring to a very concrete and round one trillion złoty that Poland will invest over the next decade in energy, infrastructure, transmission lines, and power plants,” said Prime Minister Donald Tusk during the PowerConnect Energy Summit conference in Gdańsk. He stated unequivocally that Poland’s energy future lies in renewables and nuclear power, and that in the field of energy “we act, not talk”. Construction work was supposed to begin in 2026. According to the latest schedule, however, it will start no earlier than 2028. Currently, trees and bushes have been cleared from a 300-hectare site, and fencing is being installed. Nothing else is happening at the construction site. A total of 43 tenders have been announced.
“At the end of March this year, we plan to submit an application for a construction permit. The proceedings are conducted by the National Atomic Energy Agency and may take up to two years,” said Marek Woszczyk, President of Polish Nuclear Power Plants, in an interview with the Polish Press Agency just over a week ago.
“For now, the application has not yet been submitted, but we are maintaining the deadline,” Marcin Skolimowski told TV Republika. Next year, an application for a building permit is to be submitted to the voivode. Such documents may be appealed, as was the case with the environmental decision. The document had been prepared since 2017 in great detail, yet the positive decision still ended up in court. Fortunately, the complaint was dismissed a month ago.
“I do not believe that Donald Tusk genuinely wants to build a nuclear power plant. He has effectively scrapped the second plant project. The first one is progressing sluggishly. There is still no final agreement signed with the American side. At this pace, even 2038 is slowly becoming unrealistic,” said Janusz Kowalski, an MP from Law and Justice (PiS).
Indeed, the execution contract has still not been signed. “Currently, both the investor, Polish Nuclear Power Plants, and the American consortium Westinghouse-Bechtel are negotiating the terms of the EPC execution contract, which is crucial for the further implementation of the investment. At the same time, detailed design and engineering work is continuing under the EDA+ (Engineering Development Agreement), and orders for long-lead items are being prepared,” Westinghouse Electric Company stated. In April last year, both parties signed a bridging agreement.