Plans drawn up in September 2021 outlined the potential construction of six large pressurised water reactors — carrying a combined output of between 6 and 9 GWe — to come online by 2040, forming a central pillar of Poland's broader effort to move away from coal-fired power generation. Under the timetable that has been formally approved, groundbreaking on the country's first nuclear power facility is pencilled in for 2026, with the initial reactor — rated at between 1.0 and 1.6 GWe — expected to come online by 2033, with each additional phase rolling out on a two-to-three-year cycle.
Chosen as the preferred site for Poland's debut large-scale nuclear facility, the Lubiatowo-Kopalino plot within Choczewo municipality in the Pomeranian region will host a plant drawing on Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor design to deliver an output of 3,750 MWe. Westinghouse, Bechtel, and Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) put their signatures to a delivery-schedule framework for the plant during May 2023, with groundbreaking on the project set to get underway in 2028.
Construction on a second nuclear power plant is under way, with Bełchatów and Konin identified as the front-running candidate sites. Under a freshly inked three-party agreement between the Ministry of Energy, PEJ, and PGE, the wholly Treasury-owned special-purpose vehicle PEJ has been designated both lead investor and coordinator for Poland's second nuclear power plant, while state-owned utility Polska Grupa Energetyczna will carry out site assessments and early-stage feasibility work alongside prospective technology providers.
A policy document laying out the assumptions behind Poland's revised nuclear energy programme — approved by the Council of Ministers on 29 September — also addressed a planned partnership between the two companies, with the Energy Ministry noting that the arrangement aims to put the resources and expertise of both parties to productive use while coordinating preparatory investment work at the level of government administration. The document highlighted that PEJ carried the responsibility for drawing up designs for Poland's first nuclear power plant, while PGE — a group that encompasses PGE Energia Jądrowa — brings its own track record in developing nuclear project plans to the table.
A revision to the nuclear power programme has pushed back the timeline for the second plant's first unit, with commercial operation now targeted for 2036 and full output not anticipated until 2038 — a combined delay of three years against the prior schedule.
A procurement process built around structured dialogue with potential technology suppliers and construction contractors was under way for the second plant, the ministry indicated. Three countries — the United States, France, and Canada — have entered the procedure, which calls on suppliers to draw up preliminary feasibility studies covering the power plant technologies they put forward; the stated goal is to arrive at a comprehensive package bringing together technology, financing for investment, and elements of broader strategic cooperation.
Planned as the reactor technology for the second plant — just as it was for the first — are established Generation III+ light-water units of the large-scale variety, with the revised nuclear programme mapping out a sequence of dates for that facility: a strategic partner and technology to be chosen in 2027, construction works to get under way around 2032, and the inaugural unit to come online around 2040, which places that last milestone roughly a year later than the timetable previously in place.
The ministry indicated that a final determination on the second plant would follow completion of the required research and analyses needed to confirm investment viability. Officials from the state assets portfolio, the energy ministry, and the state-owned companies involved described the agreement as a framework for coordinated work on site assessments, feasibility studies, and technology selection.
Wojciech Balczun, Minister of State Assets, characterised the arrangement as one requiring close cooperation between the state and state-owned entities. Wojciech Wrochna, Deputy Minister of Energy and Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure, noted that the process would be conducted on a competitive basis to develop favourable conditions covering technology, financing, and long-term strategic cooperation.
Marek Woszczyk, President of the Management Board of PEJ, pointed to accumulated experience from the first nuclear project as a resource available to the second that had not existed at the outset of the initial undertaking. Dariusz Lubera, President of the Management Board of PGE, expressed the view that the combined knowledge and competence of both companies would support delivery of a project he described as having strategic importance for the Polish energy sector and the broader economy.
