Poland aims to build two nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of 6–9 GW. The ambitious program, in which America is playing a major role, is being pursued as Poland strives to improve its energy security amid geopolitical tensions heightened by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), a U.S. government agency, made its declaration of financial support in a letter of intent signed on Tuesday.
The DFC's head of investments, Agnes Dasewicz, said the agency was taking a step toward reducing regional dependence on Russian energy exports and that it was committed to enhancing regional energy security in Central and Eastern Europe.
Dasewicz added that the DFC wanted to “strengthen economic growth and create jobs.”
The money from the DFC will support the Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear power plant project in northern Poland. The American Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) made a similar declaration of support for the project last year, to the tune of some $17 billion.
Construction of the power plant is due to begin in 2028. The first reactor is expected to be completed by 2035, with subsequent reactors built at one-year intervals, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Wojciech Rosiński, finance division director at PEJ, the company responsible for developing nuclear power in Poland, said that the involvement of the DFC “has more than just a financial dimension for us. It is a sign of the interest of the American administration in our project.”
