Us-based Westinghouse and Bechtel have completed a front-end engineering and design (Feed) study for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Poland, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported.
PAP said the Feed study was part of a US proposal to the Polish government to build the Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plant in the Eastern European country. The plants will be Poland's first commercial nuclear power stations as Warsaw moves away from coal while remaining energy independent.
According to PAP, the Feed study includes a plan outline for the construction of three AP1000 nuclear power plants and ancillary facilities at the Lubiatoow-Kopalino site in northern Poland.
In April, Bechtel signed memorandums of understanding with 12 companies in Poland for potential nuclear power plant development.
At the time, Bechtel and Westinghouse said they would jointly prepare front-end engineering designs for nuclear power plants on the Baltic coast equipped with three Westinghouse AP1000 units.
In June, Bechtel announced the signing of memorandums of understanding with Toshiba American Energy Systems and Toshiba Energy Systems and Solutions to carry out nuclear power projects in Poland.
Toshiba joined a group of US and Polish companies to put together a team led by Bechtel and Westinghouse. Toshiba already provides steam turbines, generators and services for various types of power plants, Bechtel said.
PAP said the Feed study included an assessment of the construction schedule, project risks and risk management, as well as an analysis of the impact of the nuclear power plant on the Polish economy.
The first unit is scheduled for 2033.
Poland is planning to build six nuclear power units with a capacity of up to 9 gigawatts. Its energy policy through 2040 assumes that the first unit with a capacity of about 1-1.6 gigawatts will come online in 2033. Subsequent units will be commissioned every two to three years.
Three companies competed for the project. Westinghouse, France's state-owned power company EDF and South Korea's KePCO.
In October 2021, EDF submitted a non-binding preliminary offer to the Polish government for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for four to six EPR reactors.
In April, KHNP submitted a non-binding offer for six plants using its APR-1400 reactor technology.
The Polish government is expected to make a final decision on the project by the end of the year.
According to earlier reports, Westinghouse is expected to submit an offer for its AP1000 technology by the end of August.
Energy independence is crucial to the geopolitics of any country, and Poland seeks more and more sovereignty, creating new projects that will allow it to achieve energy independence to protect national interests.