Polish plant contract negotiations move to next stage

The terms and conditions that have now been agreed provide a framework for the negotiation of further specific elements of the contract and its exhibits and to finalise the remaining terms by year-end, the three companies said. ('Exhibits' are various supplementary documents to a contract that provide additional details, specifications or other supporting information). 

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. In September 2023, Westinghouse, Bechtel and Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) - a special-purpose vehicle 100% owned by Poland's State Treasury - signed an 18-month engineering services contract for Westinghouse and Bechtel will finalise a site-specific design for the plant.

"With this agreement, we continue our close partnership with PEJ for the delivery of our proven, advanced AP1000 reactor for this historic project," said Dan Lipman, President of Global Business Initiatives at Westinghouse. "The proven, advanced AP1000 reactor will provide Poland with abundant, reliable energy, contribute billions of zlotys to its economy and create thousands of jobs in both countries during construction and operation."

The second phase of preparatory works and in-depth geological surveys are already being conducted at the future construction site, with general contractor Bechtel assuming management of the project site in August, as earthworks began.  PEJ submitted a construction licence application to Poland's National Atomic Energy Agency in March.

_{PEJ's 'behind the scenes' video of site works (Video: PEJ)}

Dena Volovar, President of Bechtel's Nuclear, Security & Environmental business, said the latest agreement reflects the momentum the company has built with PEJ and is a "vote of confidence in American nuclear technology and know-how". 

"Bechtel has designed, built, or supported 150 nuclear power plants over 80 years, and we recently completed the most modern AP1000 units in the United States. Using modern execution tools to drive efficient delivery, we're bringing that experience to Poland, and we're building local capability as we go. By the time this plant is running, Polish companies and Polish workers will be part of a nuclear industry that can compete for decades," he said.

"PEJ and the Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium have agreed on the main terms of the contract for the construction of the first Polish nuclear power plant, which provides the basis for further, detailed negotiations regarding the remaining terms of cooperation under the EPC Contract," said Marek Woszczyk, President of Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe. "The American Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium will be responsible for the construction of the facility, with the first electricity to the Polish grid from the power plant to flow in 2036."