Nuclear Energy at Poland’s Door

“Small nuclear reactors are profitable to local communities as well as Poland’s economy as a whole. They will give the country unmatched competitive edge”, says Dawid Jackiewicz, Vice-President of Orlen Synthos Green Energy.

How can Poland benefit from investing in small nuclear reactors?

We are raising the subject of small nuclear reactors on such a huge scale for the first time. It is no secret that at this stage of nuclear energy development, one is hard-pressed to determine its ultimate direction, or where we will find ourselves in thirty years or more. As we have been basing our projects on the Canadian and US experience, we can declare at this stage already that this will make us unrivalled in terms of the overall energy system.

Building a small nuclear reactor is obviously a very costly proposition, involving major capital expenditure. Yet over the facility’s operational lifetime – scheduled for 60 years, with an option of a 30-year extension – expenses are not only stable, they are negligible in the context of potentially gaining inexpensive, market-competitive energy. I therefore believe it will be a major boost to the economy, providing access to safe, zero-carbon, stable energy – and heat. Local governments, soon to be faced with the issue of heating sector transformation, will thus stand to benefit from the solution. Moreover, the state will gain a guarantee of independence from foreign energy resources, and unreliable suppliers from outside Poland.