It is moving ahead with a project to develop small nuclear power reactors in Poland, with the Polish energy company Orlen and two government financial institutions in the US signing an agreement on Monday.
Poland is moving toward renewable energy or non-climate-changing fossil fuels as it tries to break its dependence on coal.
The Ukrainian crisis has also accelerated Poland's efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and natural gas.
At a ceremony at the US ambassador's residence in Warsaw, the US Export-Import Bank and US International Development Finance Corporation signed letters of interest to lend up to $3 billion and up to $1 billion, respectively, for the Orlen Synthos Green Energy project.
It aims to develop about 20 BWRX-300 small modular reactors designed by GE Hitachi Nuclear Power.
Later, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference that the country needed a “cheap, clean and reliable energy source” like the small nuclear reactors that will produce emission-free energy and be a driving force for the economy for decades to come.
Coal mining is among Poland's largest employers, providing around 80,000 jobs and supplying about 70% of the country's energy, and Morawiecki mentioned that the industry will continue to guarantee power security.
He stressed, however, that global climate concerns and European Union regulations are calling for a shift to renewable and clean energy, which the nuclear reactors plan is helping advance.
Poland’s first BWRX-300 reactor should launch in 2029 and will be the world’s second, after a similar one opens in Darlington, Canada.
Orlen oil comes from Saudi Arabia, the North Sea, West Africa and the US.
In February, the Polish government and the US Westinghouse Electric Company signed an agreement for advance cooperation on the first large nuclear power plant in the central European country, using the US company's technology.
Construction will begin in 2026, and aims to start supplying the power grid in 2032.
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