Poland Needs Nuclear To Meet EU Expectations, Says Minister

10 Mar (NucNet): Poland will need nuclear energy if it is to meet European Union requirements concerning the country’s energy mix and its CO2 emissions, energy minister Krzysztof Tchórzewski told Polish daily Wprost. “We must take a decision on this in the near future”, Mr Tchórzewski was quoted as saying. Mr Tchórzewski said the government has abandoned plans to finance the nuclear project by way of contracts for difference and would like to find funding on a commercial basis, without state guarantees on loans or electricity prices. He said his ministry would like to develop a new financing model by the end of the first half of 2017. A 2015 plan by the previous government laid out Poland’s plans to have 6,000 MW of nuclear online by 2030, with the first unit starting commercial operation in 2024.