Plans for Poland's first nuclear power plant move ahead as US and Polish officials sign an agreement
Polish and U.S. officials have signed an agreement in Warsaw to move forward with the construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant
WARSAW, Poland — Polish and U.S. officials signed an agreement Wednesday in Warsaw to move forward with the construction of Poland's first nuclear power plant as part of an effort by the Central European nation to move away from polluting fossil fuels.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the deal to build the plant at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Pomerania region near the Baltic Sea the beginning of a new chapter for Poland, and described nuclear energy as a stable and clean energy source.
“The only clean, stable energy source that is technologically proven and verified in terms of safety is nuclear energy, which is having its big day today,” he said at the ceremony.
Morawiecki's government had announced last year that it had chosen the U.S. as its partner for the project.
A consortium made up of Westinghouse and Bechtel signed the agreement with the Polish state-owned utility overseeing the nuclear program, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ).
The planned site is about 280 kilometers (175 miles) from the border with Germany, which shut its last remaining nuclear reactors in April. Last year, the four German states closest to Poland said they were opposed to the Polish plan.
Many environmentalists traditionally oppose nuclear energy, and in Poland some argue that the initial cost is so high and that it takes so long to develop that it makes more sense to invest in renewable energies. Still, opposition in Poland to the plan has not been high.
Even the Greens party is divided on the matter. That is a reflection of how fears of climate change have persuaded some environmentalists
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