WARSAW (RIA Novosti): The Polish company KGHM Polska Miedz and the American NuScale Power LLC signed an agreement on the development and construction of low-power nuclear reactors in Poland, RIA Novosti correspondent reported.
“The agreement concerns the development of nuclear technologies in the form of modernization of existing coal turbines or the development of new sources of nuclear energy in the form of small modular reactors – from 1 to 12 modules with a capacity of 77 MW each,” KGHM explained.
The third party is the co-nsulting company PBE M-olecule Sp. z oo Sp. k. specialized in energy issues.
The first reactor built under this agreement is planned to be launched in 2029.
At the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister of State Assets of Poland Karol Rabenda said that the country, along with renewable energy sources, also needs stable ones.
“We are on the verge of Poland’s energy transformation. It is not only a challenge, but also a chance, an impulse for the Polish eco-nomy. We are developing renewable energy sources, but we will not achieve stability without nuclear energy. Therefore, we want to develop nuclear energy tog-ether with renewable energy.” – explained the official.
The head of NuScale Power LLC John Hopkins, in turn, said that the parties will use modern technologies “that will replace fossil fuels.”
Now in Poland there are no nuclear power plants, about 70% of the power generating capacity is coal-fired.
As Peter Naimsky , the government’s plenipotentiary for strategic energy infrastructure, said in July , the country will not do without nuclear energy. It was reported that the Polish authorities are planning to build six nuclear power units with a total capacity of 6-9 GW. The first of them is planned to be launched in the region of the Gdansk seaside in 2033.
In addition, large Polish entrepreneurs Sigmund Solozh and Michal Solovov intend to build a nuclear power plant in the center of the country, the Polsat TV channel reported at the end of August. It was noted that it will operate on the basis of American technologies of small modular reactors.
The interest in small nuclear power plants (SMPPs) is growing in the world. Such power units with an installed electrical capacity of up to 300 MW can be used to supply remote isolated consumers. These can be, for example, drilling platforms, mining and processing complexes, metallurgical enterprises and other energy-intensive industries.
Small modular reactor plants can be built independently of each other or as modules in a large complex, adding power as needed.
