In the next 18 months, a report will be jointly prepared for the implementation of a civil nuclear power programme in Poland
US and Poland sign intergovernmental agreement for co-operation in the latter's civil nuclear power programme. (Credit: Markus Distelrath from Pixabay)
The US and Poland have signed a 30-year agreement to enable cooperation between the two countries for the development of the latter’s civil nuclear power programme.
The intergovernmental agreement is expected to pave the way for $18bn of purchases of nuclear technology by Poland from US firms, reported Reuters.
It was signed by the US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette and Poland’s Secretary of State for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski.
According to the US Department of Energy (DOE), the agreement keeps up President Donald Trump’s promise of helping Poland secure access to alternate sources of energy. It consolidates the overall strategic energy partnership between the two countries, expands the energy mix in Poland, and lowers its energy reliance on coercive suppliers, said the US DOE.
Brouillette said: “The Trump Administration believes the key to energy security is energy diversity – a diversity of fuels, sources, and routes. Nuclear will provide a clean and reliable supply of electricity to the people of Poland, as well as enhance their energy diversity and security.
“The next generation of nuclear energy must be a part of the energy security conversation with our allies in Europe and around the world.”
Plans for the civil nuclear power programme to be drawn
In the coming 18 months, the two countries will jointly work on a report that will provide a design for implementing a civil nuclear power programme for Poland. The countries will also work on potential financing arrangements.
The US DOE said that the joint work will be the basis for long-term involvement by the US and for the Polish government to take final decisions on speeding up the development of nuclear power plants in the European nation.
Apart from the nuclear power projects, the agreement also calls for support of relevant business entities and government-led efforts pertaining to regulatory, research and training, apart from joint cooperation on projects across Europe.
Naimski said: “This agreement is not only about clean energy and its security of supply. Poland sees this strategic cooperation in a wider context.
“It is about geopolitical security, long-term economic growth, technological advancement, and development of a new industrial sector in Poland.”
Earlier this month, the US signed a draft intergovernmental agreement with Romania for co-operation pertaining to the 1.3GW Cernavoda nuclear power project and the civil nuclear power sector in Romania.