Westinghouse Electric Company, Bechtel and Polish utility Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe yesterday (Sep 27) signed the Engineering Services Contract for Poland’s first nuclear power plant at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in Pomerania. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska and U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski attended the signing ceremony in Warsaw.
The contract scope includes finalizing a site-specific design for three Westinghouse AP1000® nuclear islands based on the most advanced Generation III+ nuclear reactor available today; Turbine Island and Balance of Plant design work; and support for PEJ to prepare license application materials, training programs, and operations and maintenance procedures. The work outlined in the 18-month contract will begin immediately.
“One week ago, Westinghouse and Bechtel, leaders of the American civil nuclear power sector, formed a consortium to design and build the first nuclear power plant under the Polish Nuclear Power Program. Two days later, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe received a decision on environmental conditions for this project in Pomerania. Today we witness signing a contract for the plant design and engineering. Consistent and timely implementation of the schedules assumed, but also the scope of the contract being executed today, confirm our determination to build the first nuclear power plant within the target timeframe, in line with the budget, and with the optimum utilization of the Polish industry. Westinghouse and Bechtel are completing a sister project known as Plant Vogtle in the American state of Georgia. Their combined experience, lessons learned from the Vogtle project, optimizations implemented on this basis, and the world’s most advanced technological and engineering know-how of Westinghouse and Bechtel are now being employed to fundamentally rebuild the Polish energy mix, provide a strong impulse to strengthen the Polish economy and train Polish technicians and engineers. 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.
“This is 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,” said Mark Brzezinski, U.S. Ambassador to Poland. “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.”
“The U.S. Department of Energy has long looked forward to this day, achieving our biggest milestone yet for U.S.-Poland civil nuclear cooperation, years in the making. This collaboration will stretch out for multiple decades, and prove to be a cornerstone of our enduring strategic and commercial partnership,”
said Andrew Light, Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs at the Department of Energy.
“Poland will deploy the most advanced and proven nuclear technology available today, that will provide clean, safe and reliable power, and create tens of thousands secure and sustainable energy jobs over multiple generations. This visionary project will further cement Poland as a premier center for advanced net zero energy solutions which will protect our citizens from climate change while ensuring Energy independence.”
“We are entering 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. In about 1.5 years, the signed contract will result in the design/engineering documentation of the first nuclear power plant to be built in Pomerania,” said Mateusz Berger, President of the Management Board of Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe. “This moment is the culmination of very intensive work by many people from the Polish and U.S. government administrations, as well as employees of PEJ, Westinghouse and Bechtel, for which I would like to thank everyone.”
“This is a transformational moment for Poland, for our partners, and for Westinghouse,” said Patrick Fragman, Westinghouse President and CEO. “The breadth of the work we are performing here, as we create the foundations of a nuclear energy program where none existed before, will be a model for other countries that seek decarbonization and energy security through safe, reliable nuclear energy. Poland is to be commended for showing the way forward.”
“Poland’s first nuclear power plant is a historic project, vital to the country’s energy security and Energy transition goals,” said Craig Albert, President and Chief Operating Officer at Bechtel. “We’re excited to bring Bechtel’s seven decades of global nuclear power expertise to this effort, and we’re proud to partner with PEJ, Westinghouse, and the thousands of local Polish construction workers and suppliers who will join together to make this project a success.”
Poland’s first AP1000® nuclear reactor is anticipated to achieve commercial operation in 2033.
The AP1000 is the only operating Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems, modular construction design and the smallest footprint per MWe on the market. In the U.S., at the Vogtle site in
Georgia, one AP1000 unit is producing power for the grid while a second unit recently completed its initial fuel load with commercial operations likely later this year or early-2024. Four AP1000 reactors are currently setting operational performance and availability records in China with six additional reactors under construction there. Earlier this year, Bulgaria selected the AP1000 technology for its new reactor program and the technology is under consideration at multiple other sites in Central and Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, and in North America.
Westinghouse Electric Company is shaping the future of carbon-free energy by providing safe, innovative nuclear and other clean power technologies and services globally. Westinghouse supplied the world’s first commercial pressurized water reactor in 1957 and the company’s technology is the basis for nearly one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants. Over 135 years of innovation makes Westinghouse the preferred partner for advanced technologies covering the complete nuclear energy life cycle. For more information, visit www.westinghousenuclear.com and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and X.
Bechtel is a trusted engineering, construction and project management partner to industry and government. Differentiated by the quality of our people and our relentless drive to deliver the most successful outcomes, we align our capabilities to our customers’ objectives to create a lasting positive impact. Since 1898, we have helped customers complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that have created jobs, grown economies, improved the resiliency of the world's infrastructure, increased access to energy, resources, and vital services, and made the world a safer, cleaner place.
Bechtel serves the Infrastructure; Nuclear, Security & Environmental; Energy; and Mining & Metals markets. Our services span from initial planning and investment, through start-up and operations.