We waited a long time for a decision, 7 years of work, and it went lazy, but erstwhile we yet got there, it wasn't just 1 atomic power plant, it was 2 at a time.
The minute of granting the right to plant atomic reactors in Poland to Americans revealed a deep crack in the Polish government. The reason seems to be the costs that we will pay for this 3rd approach to the Polish atom. The authoritative announcement of who will build the Polish atom was a dense failure. The US offer was approved politically on 2 November 2022. Officially. due to the fact that Prime Minister Morawiecki has already announced on Twitter that technology is safe and tested, and the warrant of success is the strength of alliance with America.
The U.S. Energy Secretary was pleased, Jennifer Granholm, announcing that this is simply a "great step in strengthening links with Poland in building energy safety for generations". Besides, she pragmatically stated that the Polish atom would make 100,000 jobs in America. The American, of course. Poland besides fell a crumb from the table of joy, the minister added: “This is simply a clear signal for Russia, we will not let it treat energy as a weapon.” This satisfaction should be enough.
Where did you get that double start? Prime Minister Morawiecki had to respond rapidly and announced that we had chosen American technology for Poland before the deep divisions in the government were revealed. due to the fact that his deputy prime minister had completely different plans. On Sunday, October 23rd, Jacek Sasin negotiated investment conditions in the U.S. Department of Energy, and as he was not happy with them, next week on Monday, with a delegation of state and private energy giants (Waldemar Dabrowski PGE, Zygmunt Solorz ZE PAK) signs a letter of intent about cooperation with Korean atomic tycoon KHNP.
It is hard to get louder votum separatum. Something in Washington went incorrect that Deputy Prime Minister had to go to Seoul, and before that, the Prime Minister had to calm his ally down, announcing the decision even before it was officially announced. due to the fact that according to the government program, only 1 technology should be chosen. American, of course.
Where did this “nuclear crack” come from in the elite of the then government? Why did the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister support 2 different projects? In my opinion, the U.S. government's front lines have prompted the US's bid so powerfully pushed by a proxy Piotr Naimski. This largest lobbyist of American energy for many years of the erstwhile government has bent all those resistant to the ground, just to turn us back into a atomic dependence on the large Alliance. Finally, in July 2022 he was expelled from this function in a humiliating way, which he besides publically complained about. And despite offering to return, he was not allowed to run the case. The Americans lost their man in a crucial position.
If you look at the cost of building atomic blocks, the United States is by far the most costly supplier of atomic technology. The cost of megawatt the power given there at that age was $13 million – that's more than twice as much as announced by the Prime Minister $6.2 million.
But if you compare these costs with competitors, the situation is starting to look dramatic. The French are small better than Americans – their cost of the megawatt was $9.2 million. That besides makes you skeptical about their offer. On the another hand, the Koreans are unrivalled among bidders – their atomic megawatt cost just $2.9 million. It's 4.5 times cheaper than the Americans and 3 times more than the French.. And on top of that, they don't want to talk about it at all. Russia, which has the lowest costs (US$2.5 million/MW), has nothing to say since it was excluded in pre-runs.
The fresh government has late verified the costs of the first power plant in Pomerania, estimating them at $38 billion, which is almost twice the amount given by Prime Minister Morawiecki. And this is much more akin to the cost of AP1000 reactors, given late in the United States. specified a disproportion of real data must have triggered a reaction among politicians who, on a regular basis, declared to be working for national interests. But is it crucial that Poland spends so much money so irrationally?
Andrzej Szczęsniak
P.S. shortly we will look at the selected atomic technology supplier, quite a few dead bodies in the closet.
Think Poland, No. 25-26 (16-23.06.2024)
