“We want Poland to have three nuclear power plants in operation in ten to twelve years, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State Assets Jacek Sasin during “The pathway to European energy sovereignty” debate in Davos.
The business project involves the construction of a nuclear power plant in Patnow. It will be built in cooperation with Korean partner KHNP. A state-owned company, the PGE Group, will take part in the process. The government program envisages the construction of two more power plants. The first will be implemented with the US Westinghouse in northern Poland.
“It is not only about the government project, but we are also open to business projects supported by the government,”
says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State Assets Jacek Sasin.
The development of nuclear energy will provide Poles with clean, stable, and cheap energy. It will at the same time increase the competitiveness of the Polish economy and energy independence. Today 18% of Poland’s energy comes from renewable sources.
“We are interested in building nuclear energy as quickly and as extensively as possible because it is to be the foundation of Poland’s energy mix in the future, together with renewable energy, in which we are also very successful. We already have 18 per cent of energy in Poland generated directly from renewable sources and a total of 35 per cent from non- and low-emission sources. However, these are not sources of stable energy, they require stabilisation, and this will be provided by nuclear energy, which will be the main element of the Polish energy mix in the future,”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State Assets Jacek Sasin said in Davos.
According to the deputy prime minister, the development of nuclear power is a necessity, because existing renewable energy sources like wind and solar are not stable sources. They can only be a supplement to the national mix. Nuclear power is to be the foundation of Poland’s energy mix.
Energy transformation
The energy crisis triggered by Russia and later its aggression against Ukraine has meant that all of Europe, including Poland, is facing a large-scale energy transition. It is to guarantee the country’s energy sovereignty. Independence from supplies from the East and securing continuity of energy supplies is becoming crucial.
It should be emphasized that Poland has been successfully building its energy independence for 7 years through investments such as the expansion of the LNG terminal in Swinoujscie, the construction of Baltic Pipe, the LNG terminal in Klaipeda, interconnectors with Slovakia and Lithuania, gas connections with Germany and the Czech Republic.
Talks with MOTIE
Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin in Davos also met with the Minister of Trade, Infrastructure and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea Mr Lee Chang-yang. The topic of the conversation was Polish-Korean cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. The head of the Ministry of State Assets stressed the importance of industrial cooperation with the Korean side on partnership terms, which will bring long-term benefits to both sides.