10 MW
The proton exchange membrane electrolyser pilot plant capacity will be installed at the base of a turbine at Germany’s Alpha Ventus offshore wind site in the North Sea which will test the feasibility and efficiency of direct production of green hydrogen at sea.
Source: project firm NorthH2
Poland’s first commercial nuclear power plant is now scheduled for commercial operation in 2036, with the first concrete to be poured in 2028, a national energy agency official revealed on 11 December. This delays the previously announced deadline of three years by three years. unit, a 3,750 MW plant to be built north of Gdansk, near the country’s Baltic Sea coast.
State-owned development company Polskie Elektroownie Jadrowe (PEJ) signed an 18-month engineering services contract in 2023 with Westinghouse Electric and Bechtel to develop the plant, which includes three AP1000 reactors. Poland’s head of energy infrastructure, Wojciech Wrochna, said its second and third units will be operational in 2037 and 2038.
The project’s delays are related to the selection of a technology supplier, changes in nuclear law and permitting and financing issues, industry experts told the industry publication. NucNet.
Bechtel has conducted surveys covering 30 hectares at the site related to geological and hydrogeological conditions to inform the design of the plant’s three reactors, inlet basin and cooling water channels. Bechtel is now hiring Polish supply chain contractors, according to the owner, with several subcontracts already signed.
The government will provide capital to cover 30 percent of the plant’s estimated total cost of $37 billion, with the rest coming from external financing, he said. The International Development Finance Corp. of the US said it will provide more than $980 million, with the US Export-Import Bank also set to contribute. Commitments from Canada and France have also been announced, but the European Union is still determining its funding.
The updated PEJ nuclear power program also includes a second plant at a yet-to-be-determined location, with construction of its first reactor starting in 2032. Wrochna said the government hopes to select a development team by the end of 2026 in a competitive offer. Talks with potential bidders will begin early next year, with contenders said to include Westinghouse, France-based EDF and South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power.
More than 92% of Poles support the construction of nuclear power plants, according to a recent survey commissioned by the government.
