Arlington, VA – Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency announced grant funding to Poland’s Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ – Polish Nuclear Power Plants Ltd) for a front-end engineering and design study that will help develop Poland’s first two nuclear power plants, facilitate the country’s transition away from coal-fired power, and strengthen the country’s efforts to ensure its long-term energy security. Under the grant, Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse Electric Company and Virginia-based Bechtel Power Corporation will carry out the study. In a demonstration of broad U.S. government support for the project, the U.S. Departments of State’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, as well as the Department of Energy contributed funding toward USTDA’s grant award. Westinghouse and Bechtel will contribute additional resources toward the study’s completion.
“USTDA’s support for this project reflects a confluence of unique and remarkable circumstances where U.S. industry and government have come together at a critical juncture in the development of Poland’s nuclear energy program,” said Enoh T. Ebong, USTDA’s Acting Director. “With this project, we have an opportunity to pave the way for American technology to meet Poland’s civil nuclear energy needs.”
The study will support the Polish government’s decision-making process for the deployment of two nuclear power plants, each consisting of three nuclear reactors. Collectively, the six reactors will provide Poland more than six gigawatts of clean power generation capacity by 2043. The study will provide PEJ, Poland’s state-owned company charged with investing in the development, construction and operation of Poland’s future nuclear power plants, with layout plans for the location of the first nuclear power plant; a strategic licensing plan; a project schedule; and a budgetary cost estimate for delivery, construction and start-up of the first power plant.
USTDA’s grant to PEJ was enabled by the entry into force on February 24, 2021, of an intergovernmental agreement between the United States and Poland on civil nuclear power cooperation.
Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, B. Bix Aliu, said: “The United States is delighted to support Poland’s energy security and climate ambitions by providing the safest and most advanced nuclear power solutions in the world from Westinghouse and Bechtel.”
Minister Naimski, Poland’s State Secretary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure, added: “We are glad of the new U.S. administration’s support of Poland’s civil nuclear power program, which provides the broader framework for this study and for USTDA’s engagement. We see this also in broader terms, as a commitment to Poland’s profound energy transition. The front-end engineering and design study, on which U.S. companies will now be able to begin their work, will help Poland’s government take the final decision on strategic partnership in constructing Poland’s nuclear power plants for a clean energy system.”
The CEO of PEJ, Robert Ostrowski, noted: “We welcome the interest of these leading American and global nuclear energy companies in undertaking this important study as well as commend the strong U.S. commitment to funding this effort. We truly look forward to the work ahead and to the new momentum in advancing Poland’s civil nuclear program.”
“This cooperation not only demonstrates U.S. and Poland’s deep strategic ties, it comes at a critical time in our efforts to address climate change,” said Ann Ganzer, U.S. Department of State Senior Bureau Official for International Security and Nonproliferation. “Through deployment of clean, baseload nuclear energy, Poland will significantly contribute to the global effort to reduce carbon emissions.”
“The United States is committed to the success of Poland’s new nuclear power program as a significant economic and national security opportunity,” noted Elizabeth Urbanas, Acting Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the Department of Energy. “This project will serve to bolster several key goals, including enhancing the U.S.-Poland strategic partnership, supporting Poland’s efforts to develop safe, clean and reliable nuclear power, reasserting American engagement with the global civil nuclear industry, supporting U.S. vendors that will create and maintain well-paying clean-energy jobs, and aligning joint U.S.-Polish efforts to tackle the climate crisis.”
This project advances USTDA’s Global Partnership for Climate-Smart Infrastructure, which connects U.S. industry to major clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects in emerging markets.
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The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.
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