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EIA submitted for Poland's first nuclear power plant

Thursday, 31 March 2022

Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe, the Polish government company that is progressing its policy to deploy up to six reactors at multiple sites in the country by 2040, has submitted the environmental impact assessment report for the first plant.

EIA submitted for Poland's first nuclear power plant — Lubiatowo-Kopalinio is a coastal location whereas Zarnowiec is lakeside (Image: PEJ)

The report was submitted to the General Director for Environmental Protection on 29 March. The General Directorate for Environmental Protection (GDOŚ) is an expert institution responsible for environmental protection and control of the investment process.

The EIA report examines the environmental impact of constructing and operating the first nuclear power plant in Poland with a generating capacity of up to 3750 MWe in the area of the municipalities of Choczewo, Gniewino and Korkowa in the province of Pomerania.

PEJ said the final EIA report complies with the provisions of the decision of GDOŚ, which in 2016 defined the scope of the environmental report in relation to the considered location variants and their technical sub-options, as well as in relation to the infrastructure accompanying the power plant.

As part of the assessment, two location variants of the power plant were analysed: firstly Lubiatowo-Kopalino in the Choczewo commune and secondly Żarnowiec in the territory of the Krokowa and Gniewino communes. PEJ noted both locations were identified as early as 2014 and were analysed as part of the technical sub-options regarding the method of cooling the power plant, i.e. in an open cooling circuit with seawater and using seawater or desalinated cooling towers.

PEJ said the EIA report is "a key document in the environmental impact assessment procedure, which in turn is part of the procedure for the issue of the so-called environmental decision".

The report will be made available by GDOŚ in accordance with the principles set out in the law on the provision of information on the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection and environmental impact assessments.

Along with the EIA report, PEJ also submitted documentation for the purpose of conducting a transboundary environmental impact assessment.

In December last year, the seaside towns of Lubiatowo and Kopalino in Choczewo municipality were named as the preferred location for Poland's first large nuclear power plant. Detailed environmental and location studies have been conducted on the area since 2017, with the support of Jacobs as a technical advisor.