Nuclear power in Poland

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Inside of the Maria reactor core, located in Świerk-Otwock near Warsaw

Poland currently operates a single research reactor, Maria.

Poland operates nuclear waste disposal site in Różan, named Krajowe Składowisko Odpadów Promieniotwórczych (National Nuclear Waste Disposal Site) since 1961, where waste from the current and past reactors is being stored, without any incidents throughout its operational history[1]

Around 95% of the nation's electricity is currently produced by burning coal (of which Poland has the EU's largest reserves) but with the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, in 2006 the nuclear option was reviewed.[2]

History[]

In the 1980s, the Zarnowiec Nuclear Power Plant was under construction, but was abandoned on 4 September 1990.

A 2006 feasibility study suggested it optimal to build an 11.5 GWe capacity nuclear power plant. However, this proving unaffordable in the immediate future, Poland decided to build a 4.5 GWe nuclear power plant by 2030. In 2007, a draft energy policy proposed a 10 GWe nuclear capacity by 2030 to provide 10% of electricity.[2] The deadline gives an estimated ten years for investment and construction and five years of public campaigning.[3]

In July 2006, Poland joined Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia to build a new nuclear power plant in Lithuania to replace the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant being shut down due to pressure from the EU. Poland would invest 22% with these other countries into the project, which would have been operational by 2015. The total costs of the project was to be EUR 6 billion. Poland was guaranteed to have 1,200 MWe from the power plant and has upgraded transmission capacity between Lithuania and Poland.[2] After the nuclear project was abandoned, Lithuania instead became an importer of electricity from Poland.

In a public opinion poll, 60% of the population supported construction of a nuclear power plant in Poland to reduce its dependence on foreign sources of energy. Additionally, 48% supported construction of a nuclear power plant in their neighborhood, citing local benefits that include lower energy costs.[2]

The popular Baltic Sea resort Mielno is one of three sites selected, however in February 2012, residents voted overwhelmingly against the plan. Some 94 percent of the 2,389 people who took part in a referendum opposed the plant and only 5 percent supported it.[4]

As of 2021 PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna declared construction of a large offshore wind power[5] which will be then followed by six 1-1.5 GWe reactors starting from 2026 with the planned completion of first reactor by 2030 and all of them connected to the grid by 2040 with total nameplate capacity of 6-9 GWe.[6] Independently, a private chemical industry Synthos (owned by Michał Sołowow) plans deployment of GE Hitachi SMR in its plant in Oświęcim.[6] In August 2021 Synthos has been joined by ZE PAK coal power station (owned by Zygmunt Solorz), with both planning construction of six 300 MW reactors.[7]

A proposal has been also raised to retrofit thermal plants in Poland by replacing their coal boilers with SMRs, while preserving their existing generation and distribution infrastructure, which would reduce upfront capital costs by 28-35% and avoid emissions of 200 billions tons of CO2.[8]

In 2021 Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, jointly with prime ministers of Hungary, France, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia, signed an open letter to European Commission calling for recognition of role of nuclear power as the only non-intermittent low-carbon energy source currently available at industrial scale in Europe.[9]

In April 2021 Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) published a comprehensive report on perspectives of decarbonization of energy sector, calling for increased use of "any low-carbon energy sources", including renewable energy and nuclear power.[10] Minister of energy Michał Kurtyka declared it's not realistic to look at low-carbon energy sector without nuclear power.[11]

November 2021 poll indicated 74% in favor of building nuclear power plants in Poland in general, 58% supporting their location in their neighborhood and 39% opposing the latter. 82% believe nuclear power plants contribute to energy resilience of the country.[12]

See also[]

  • List of nuclear reactors#Poland
  • List of nuclear research reactors#Poland

References[]

  1. ^ "Polski reaktor jądrowy działa od lat. I to tuż pod Warszawą [KOMENTARZ]". Energetyka24. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries". World Nuclear Association. April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  3. ^ Stanislaw Latek (Spring 2005). "National Atomic Energy Agency: Nuclear News from Poland". Euronuclear. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
  4. ^ Maciej Onoszko (Feb 13, 2012). "Polish sea resort poll rejects nuclear plant". Reuters.
  5. ^ "Poland's largest power group opts to back wind over nuclear". Power Engineering International. 11 May 2018. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  6. ^ a b Wilczek, Maria (2020-06-16). "Construction of Poland's first nuclear power plant to begin in 2026". Notes From Poland (in American English). Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  7. ^ "Two Billionaires Join Forces in Poland's Nuclear Energy Push". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Qvist, Staffan; Gładysz, Paweł; Bartela, Łukasz; Sowiżdżał, Anna (January 2021). "Retrofit Decarbonization of Coal Power Plants—A Case Study for Poland". Energies. 14 (1): 120. doi:10.3390/en14010120.
  9. ^ "Joint letter from the Czech Republic, French Republic, Hungary, Republic of Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Republic of Slovenia on the role of nuclear power in the EU climate and energy policy". 2021-03-19.
  10. ^ "Komunikat 03/2021 interdyscyplinarnego Zespołu doradczego do spraw kryzysu klimatycznego przy prezesie PAN na temat perspektyw dekarbonizacji wytwarzania energii elektrycznej w Polsce" (PDF).
  11. ^ Belgium, Central Office, NucNet a s b l , Brussels. "Poland / Energy Transition Not Possible Without Nuclear, Says Climate Minister". The Independent Global Nuclear News Agency. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  12. ^ "74% Polaków popiera budowę elektrowni jądrowych w Polsce - Ministerstwo Klimatu i Środowiska - Portal Gov.pl". Ministerstwo Klimatu i Środowiska (in pl-PL). Retrieved 2021-12-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
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