30 Jan (NucNet): The Polish government has postponed a decision on the future of the country’s nuclear new-build programme until mid-2017, local media reported.
Poland’s energy minister Krzysztof Tchórzewski was reported as telling a conference on nuclear energy today that he had received a mandate from the government to present a new financing model for the country’s nuclear project by “the end of the first half” of 2017.
Mr Tchórzewski told the conference that Poland’s economy “is not indifferent” towards nuclear technology with a number of Polish companies involved in activities related to the nuclear sector.
According to the business daily WNP, Grzegorz Tobiszowski, a deputy energy minister, told the conference that the ministry will soon present its concept for Poland’s “target energy mix”, which will take into account nuclear energy.
The International Energy Agency said in a report on 25 January 2017 that under the previous Polish government, plans were published to develop and deploy nuclear capacity by the end of 2022. In mid-2015, the government started consultation on a new energy policy up to 2050.
During the consultation period a new government was elected, and this new government is revisiting the draft 2050 strategy and intends to publish its plans later this year.
The IEA called on Poland’s government to “move expediently” to determine and announce the timeline, constraints and support mechanisms for the country’s first nuclear reactor units.
The agency said this would provide long-term certainty for the licensee to proceed with investment decisions, siting characterisation and selection activities, and technology evaluation.
