Poland's PEJ Signs Amendment to Advance First Nuclear Power Station Construction

Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe signed an amendment with the Westinghouse-Bechtel Consortium enabling the implementation of the next stage of work under the project to build Poland's first nuclear power plant, as part of the Engineering Development Agreement. The move keeps one of Europe's most consequential new-build programs moving forward while the full Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract is still being negotiated.

On 29 December, PEJ announced it had signed the amendment to the EDA with the Westinghouse-Bechtel Consortium. The amended scope provides for the continuation of design works covering the nuclear island, turbine island, and the balance of plant, as well as further in-depth geological surveys. Simultaneously, the Polish State Treasury delivered a significant financial jolt to the project: PEJ received treasury bonds issued by the Minister of Finance and Economy with a nominal value of PLN4.6 billion (USD1.27 billion), a contribution to cover shares in the company's increased share capital by the State Treasury, which PEJ said "will ensure stable funding for the next stage of the nuclear power plant construction project in Pomerania."

The capital injection was made possible by the European Commission's approval of state aid for the project earlier in December 2025. That approval removed the final financial gate blocking a major escalation of activity on site.

The amendment allows PEJ to maintain the project schedule by advancing the power plant design and continuing field works, while simultaneously conducting negotiations and finalising the EPC contract, "which will ultimately determine our cooperation with the Westinghouse-Bechtel Consortium."

On the ground at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site, located northwest of Gdansk, the pace of preparatory activity is accelerating. PEJ told the Baltic Nuclear Energy Forum that regulatory steps are advancing and that a construction-permit application could be submitted in the near term. Leszek Hołda, President of Bechtel Polska, noted that approximately 300 specialists are currently involved in the work, including nearly 100 people employed by PEJ. The amendment paves the way for the launch of the next stage of geotechnical surveys in 2026, covering 1,000 drillings with a total depth of 15 kilometres and 7,000 laboratory tests. In the first half of the year, earthworks will also begin to level the site and prepare it for temporary internal roads. Procurement of the first long lead items, equipment components with extended production times, will also continue.

Before construction begins, PEJ must also obtain, among other things, a construction licence issued by the National Atomic Energy Agency and a construction permit issued by the relevant local voivode. Both remain works in progress, but the regulatory pipeline is filling. PEJ has confirmed that geological survey results will be used for the project's site report and preliminary safety report, both required as part of the application for a construction permit.

Under a funding bill signed by President Andrzej Duda in March 2025, PEJ is set to receive PLN60.2 billion (USD15.5 billion) in public funding between 2025 and 2030. The remaining funding will be obtained from financial institutions, primarily foreign institutions supporting exports originating from equipment suppliers' countries, including export credit agencies, in particular the American export credit agency Export-Import Bank of the United States.

The latest schedule targets construction of the first of three units to start in 2028, with commercial operation of that unit in 2036. Three AP1000 pressurised water reactors at Lubiatowo-Kopalino would give Poland its first-ever domestic nuclear generating capacity, a cornerstone of the country's effort to shed its deep reliance on coal.