South Korea to build a nuclear power plant in Poland

Polish and South Korean officials have signed preliminary agreements to build a nuclear power plant in Poland. The aim is part of Poland’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and achieve energy security. Thus, South Korea’s participation in the Polish project is a means of reviving the country’s nuclear power industry. The country’s most recent export agreement was with the United Arab Emirates in 2009.

The agreements were signed in Seoul. It happened just days after Poland announced that it had chosen the United States and Westinghouse to build the country’s first nuclear power plant in northern Poland.

On Monday, officials from the Polish and South Korean governments, as well as representatives from energy companies, met in Seoul to sign agreements outlining their collaboration on the construction of the second nuclear power plant. Thus, it will be built in Patnow, southwestern Poland. The location is about 230 kilometers (140 miles) from Warsaw. The project will be to develop Korean technology. Additionally, a legally binding contract is expected to be signed next year.

Plans for the nuclear power plant in Poland

Jacek Sasin, Poland’s minister of state assets and deputy prime minister, signed an agreement with Lee Chang-Yang, South Korea’s minister of trade, industry, and energy. At the same time, Polish energy companies PGE and ZE PAK signed a letter of intent to collaborate on the project with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. The deal is a “strategic” investment aimed at “strengthening the sovereignty in the field of energy security.” This is according to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

For decades, Poland has anticipated building a nuclear power plant. Consequently, this would replace its aging coal-fired plants and reduce air pollution. Apparently, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has heightened Poland’s search for alternative energy sources. This is as well as its use of energy to exert economic and political pressure on European nations.