Polish state nuclear project company Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) has signed an amendment to the engineering development agreement (EDA) with the US-based Westinghouse-Bechtel to accelerate preparatory work on Poland’s first NPP.
PEJ said the amendment provides for the continuation of design and field work, including in-depth geological surveys. It will enable design work to go ahead for the nuclear island, turbine island, and the balance of plant, as well as further in-depth geological survey campaigns. This will allow the project schedule to be maintained while continuing negotiations and finalising the engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) contract.
In November 2022, the then Polish government selected Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology for the NPP, to be built at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Choczewo municipality in Pomerania. An agreement setting a plan for the delivery of the plant was signed in May 2023 by Westinghouse, Bechtel and PEJ. In September 2023, the EDA was signed with Westinghouse and Bechtel to finalise a site-specific design for the three-unit NPP. In July 2024, the Ministry of Climate & Environment issued a decision-in-principle for PEJ to construct the plant. According to the draft update of the Polish Nuclear Energy Program (PPEJ – Program Polskiej Energetyki Jądrowej) commercial operation of the first unit is to begin in 2036.
The EPC will ultimately determine PEJ’s cooperation with the Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium, said PEJ president Marek Woszczyk. “In terms of the current negotiations, we want to proceed reasonably quickly, which is why the amendment signed today allows us to continue talks on the EPC contract, focusing on quality, with no negative impact on the project”, he noted. “To ensure timeliness, in the amendment to the EDA we have incorporated some of the work that was originally supposed to be included in the EPC contract.”
The amendment to the EDA paves the way for the launch of the next stage of geotechnical surveys in 2026, covering 1,000 drillings with a total depth of 15 km and 7,000 laboratory tests. In the first half of the year, earthworks will begin to level the site and prepare it for the construction of temporary internal roads on the construction site. Also, the procurement of the first long lead items will continue.
“The extension of the EDA allows for further advancement of design and engineering work, including the finalisation of documentation enabling the procurement of Long Lead Items and documentation for the licence application in order to maintain the assumed project schedule,” said Mirosław Kowalik, President of Westinghouse Poland. “These efforts are crucial to meeting the milestones of this strategic project for Poland.”
Leszek Hołda, President of Bechtel Polska said: “Currently, Bechtel has approximately 300 specialists involved in the work, including nearly 100 people employed by PEJ. The signing of the EDA amendment enables the continuation of engineering and preparatory works until the conclusion of the EPC contract.
PEJ has also received treasury bonds issued by the Minister of Finance & Economy with a nominal value of PLN4.6bn ($1.28bn). This is a contribution to cover shares in the company’s increased share capital by the State Treasury. The state aid will ensure stable funding for the next stage of NPP construction. In particular, it will enable the continuation of design and engineering work under the amended EDA.
The capital injection for the company was made possible by the European Commission’s approval of state aid for the project earlier in December 2025. The nominal value of the issued treasury bonds corresponds to the state aid maximum limit for 2025. “Obtaining the European Commission’s decision on state aid for the project to build Poland’s first nuclear power plant was a key milestone, the achievement of which enabled, among other things, an increase in PEJ’s share capital, said Wojciech Wrochna, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Energy and Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure.
Before construction begins, PEJ must also obtain, among other things, a construction licence issued by the National Atomic Energy Agency (Państwowa Agencja Atomistyki – PAA) and a construction permit issued by the relevant local voivode.
