Joint company launched to implement Pątnów project
08 March 2023
Polish companies ZE PAK and Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) have signed a preliminary agreement on the creation of a joint special purpose vehicle (SPV) to implement the project to construct a nuclear power plant in Pątnów in central Poland. The plant is to be supplied by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP).
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(Image: ZE PAK)
The joint company will represent the Polish side at all stages of the project, including the execution of the siting and environmental studies, acquiring financing, and the preparation of a detailed investment schedule together with the Korean side, but also, in the subsequent stages, obtaining permits and administrative decisions.
PGE and ZE PAK - which is wholly owned by the State Treasury - will each hold 50% of the shares in the SPV, making decisions "based on consensus".
PGE said the parties intend to jointly set up the SPV in form of a joint-stock company based in Konin "that will then acquire or subscribe for shares in a company with a task to pursue the project of nuclear power plant construction with a potential share of the technological partner".
The signed agreement stipulates that a Board Member designated by PGE will serve as President of the Board of the new company. On the other hand, one of the members of the Supervisory Board indicated by ZE PAK will act as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The establishment of the new company is conditional on obtaining the approval of Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
On 31 October last year, Poland's Ministry of State Assets, South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Polish companies ZE PAK and PGE, and KHNP signed a letter of intent to develop plans for a nuclear power plant in Pątnów.
"On the basis of the preliminary analyses conducted so far, it has been assessed that it is prospective to site at least two APR1400 reactors with a total capacity of 2800 MW," ZE PAK said. "Two reactors could supply Polish homes and businesses with about 22 TWh of energy, which is about 12% of today's energy consumption in Poland. The commissioning of the first unit of the power plant is possible as early as 2035."
"The incorporation of a joint company by PGE and ZE PAK is another step in the realisation of this project," said Jacek Sasin, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State Assets. "It will be a direct partner of the Korean KHNP in the construction of a nuclear power plant in the Konin region. Despite the fact it is a business project, it has the full support of the Polish government. I am confident that its implementation will contribute to reinforcing Poland's energy security and independence, as well as strengthening our position on the international arena."
On 28 October 2022, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that the US firm Westinghouse had been selected for the first part of the country's six-reactor plan to build up to 9 GWe of capacity by 2040. The letter of intent about the Pątnów plant says the Korean agreement "is a new project to supplement the existing Polish government-led nuclear power plant plan".
Researched and written by World Nuclear News