Preparations for Poland's first nuclear power plant continue

Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) has signed an amendment to the Engineering Development Agreement (EDA) with the Westinghouse–Bechtel consortium. The amendment allows the next phase of work to proceed on the project to build Poland's first nuclear power plant.

In November 2022, the then Polish government selected Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology for construction at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site (Pomerania, northern Poland). The project envisages a power plant with three AP1000 units.

In September 2023, Westinghouse, Bechtel and PEJ signed an 18-month contract for engineering work aimed at completing the site-specific design. In April 2025, PEJ and the Westinghouse–Bechtel consortium agreed on the terms of the EDA after the previous agreement expired.

PEJ is a special-purpose project company wholly owned by the Polish State Treasury.

On 29 December 2025, PEJ announced that it had signed an amendment to the EDA. The revised scope includes continuing design work for the nuclear island, turbine island and other plant systems, as well as expanding cooperation on engineering and geological surveys.

PEJ is also continuing negotiations and finalising the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contract , which is intended to “definitively establish” future cooperation with the Westinghouse–Bechtel consortium.

According to PEJ CEO Marek Woszczyk, extending the EDA will allow design and engineering work to progress so that documentation required for procurement of long-lead components and licensing procedures can be completed, keeping the project on its anticipated schedule.

Site preparation in 2026

Bechtel Polska President Leszek Hołda said the EDA amendment paves the way for the next phase of geotechnical surveys. The 2026 programme is expected to include 1 000 boreholes with a total length of 15 km and approximately 7 000 laboratory tests.

Earthworks to level the site and preparations for building temporary access roads are also due to begin in the first half of the year. Work to secure the first long-lead components is also set to continue.

Reactor unit to start up in 2033

According to Wojciech Wrocha, state secretary at the Ministry of Energy and the government's plenipotentiary for strategic energy infrastructure, preparatory work at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site is progressing alongside design work and preparation of documentation for further administrative permits. PEJ is also holding advanced talks with banks and financial institutions to secure debt financing.

The project aims to bring the first AP1000 unit into commercial operation in 2033.

State financing: bonds and European Commission approval

On 30 December, PEJ received government bonds issued by the Minister of Finance and Economy, with a nominal value of 4,6 billion PLN (approx. 26,55 billion CZK). The bonds are a contribution towards the subscription of shares as the state increases the company's share capital.

PEJ said the support is intended to ensure stable financing for the next phase of the project, in particular:

• continuing design and engineering work under the EDA amendment,
• preparatory work,
• activities related to the so-called internal associated infrastructure.

The capital increase was made possible by the European Commission's approval of state aid on 9 December 2025, which, among other things, opened the way for PEJ to increase its capital.

In March 2025, President Andrzej Duda signed a law allocating funds from the state budget for construction. Under the law, PEJ is to receive a total of 60,2 billion PLN (approx. 347,5 billion CZK) in public financing between 2025–2030. The remainder is to be covered by financing from financial institutions, mainly foreign ones (including export support from supplier countries), and export credit agencies. The Export-Import Bank of the United States is specifically mentioned.