France supports financing of Polish nuclear power plant

Friday, 13 December 2024

Export credit agency Bpifrance Assurance Export and public development bank Sfil have submitted letters of intent to Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) regarding financing of the Pomeranian power plant for the equivalent of more than PLN15 billion (USD3.75 billion).

"The letters of intent from two French institutions are yet more proof of the growing interest in Polish nuclear investment," said PEJ Vice-President Piotr Piela. "We are pleased to have acquired such experienced and reliable partners. We are consistently implementing our strategy of obtaining financing for the project and are expanding the group of leading entities cooperating with us, financing the nuclear sector."

The announcement came just days after PEJ received a letter of intent from Export Development Canada, for up to CAD2.02 billion (USD1.45 billion) to potentially support the project.

Last month, the US International Development Finance Corporation - the USA's development bank - signed a letter of interest with PEJ to provide more than USD980 million in financing for Poland's first nuclear power plant. A similar declaration, for the equivalent of about PLN70 billion, was made earlier by the US Export-Import Bank.

"Close cooperation with foreign credit entities is an important element of PEJ's strategy, which ensures financing of the company's investments and assumes building relationships with suppliers from countries with an extensive supply chain in the nuclear industry," PEJ said. "The aim is to maximise the share of export credit agencies in the project's debt financing structure."

Based on the letters of intent received so far, PEJ has collected declarations of financial commitment totalling more than PLN95 billion.

In November 2022, the then Polish government selected Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology for construction at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Choczewo municipality in Pomerania in northern Poland. An agreement setting a plan for the delivery of the plant was signed in May last year by Westinghouse, Bechtel and PEJ - a special-purpose vehicle 100% owned by Poland's State Treasury. The Ministry of Climate and Environment in July issued a decision-in-principle for PEJ to construct the plant. The aim is for Poland's first AP1000 reactor to enter commercial operation in 2033.

Under an engineering services agreement signed in September last year, in cooperation with PEJ, Westinghouse and Bechtel will finalise a site-specific design for a plant featuring three AP1000 reactors. The design/engineering documentation includes the main components of the power plant: the nuclear island, the turbine island and the associated installations and auxiliary equipment, as well as administrative buildings and infrastructure related to the safety of the facility. The contract also involves supporting the investment process and bringing it in line with current legal regulations in cooperation with the National Atomic Energy Agency and the Office of Technical Inspection.

In September, the Polish government announced its intention to allocate PLN60 billion to fund the country's first nuclear power plant.

High public support for nuclear
 

A survey conducted last month on behalf of the Ministry of Industry shows that 92.5% of respondents support the construction of a nuclear power plant in Poland, with 67.9% strongly in support. Just 5.9% of respondents oppose the construction of a plant, with 2.8% being strongly opposed.

The ministry noted that the survey results show support for nuclear at its highest level since the annual poll began in 2012. 

In addition, 79.6% of respondents said they would approve of a plant being built in the area in which they live, while 18.8% are opposed. The number of supporters of building a nuclear power plant in their neighbourhood increased by 3 percentage points compared with a year ago.

Just over 90% of respondents believe that building a nuclear power plant as a low-emission source of energy generation was a good way to combat climate change, while 4.2% believe that constructing a nuclear power plant in Poland will contribute to increasing the country's energy security.

While 65.1% of respondents said they had a good or higher knowledge of nuclear energy, 96.6% said they believe that an information campaign on nuclear energy was needed in Poland. When asked where they got their information about nuclear energy from, 72.3% of respondents said the Internet, 34.7% said television, and 29.1% said conversations with friends.

The nationwide telephone survey commissioned by the Ministry of Industry was carried out by DANAE on 12-28 November on a group of 2060 Polish residents aged 15-75.