Poland Chooses US to Build First Nuclear Power Plant

As part of its attempts to burn less coal and increase its energy independence, Poland will work with the U.S. government and Westinghouse to construct the nation's first nuclear power plant.

Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's prime minister, announced late on Friday that his country would build a plant in the province of Pomerania near the Baltic Sea using the "proven, safe technology" of Westinghouse Electric Company. The precise site is still unknown.

According to Morawiecki, a strong Poland-US relationship "guarantees the success of our joint activities."

Two nuclear power stations with three reactors each are being built by Poland, with the last one expected to be online in 2043. The Pomerania plant's first three reactors are covered by the agreement with the US and Westinghouse; according to officials, this plant should begin generating power in 2033.

Poland, a nation with some of the worst air pollution in Europe, has long planned to construct a nuclear power plant to replace its outdated coal-fired units. When Poland was a part of the Eastern Bloc, work on a nuclear power plant using Soviet technology started in the early 1980s.

The project was abandoned as a result of protests from locals and environmentalists, the 1986 catastrophe at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, and financial constraints.