Monday 15 June 2015
Polish Nuclear Power : the history and current development strategy
Polish
news portal “onet.pl” has recently discussed the salaries of the board of
directors of the first Polish nuclear power plant, which were reported to be
high ( approx. 100,000 zloty = 25,000 euro/month).
As many “drama-driven” news sources, the article does not discuss complexity and level of responsibility that is in hand of the management team of such industrial side (even if the project is still at the stage of planning). The appropriate planning and then wise, safe and sustainable management of such asset, can not only provide country with long-term fixed electricity prices (as it takes place in France, where market is highly depended on nuclear power and where prices are rather flat, in peak/off-peak comparison) but also straighten its energy security and competitiveness on the international power markets.
As many “drama-driven” news sources, the article does not discuss complexity and level of responsibility that is in hand of the management team of such industrial side (even if the project is still at the stage of planning). The appropriate planning and then wise, safe and sustainable management of such asset, can not only provide country with long-term fixed electricity prices (as it takes place in France, where market is highly depended on nuclear power and where prices are rather flat, in peak/off-peak comparison) but also straighten its energy security and competitiveness on the international power markets.
Poland
has been drafting the plan of construction of nuclear power plant since 1950s,
but over the course of 5-6 years, the work regarding this issue intensified.
The
strategic plan to build the first nuclear power plant in Poland is the result
of many factors, among which the most important is the demand for electricity
and new environmental requirements. The Ministry of Economy estimates that by
2030, demand for electricity in Poland will increase by 36%, from 119.1 TWh (
2010 ) to a level of 161.4 TWh (elektrownia-jadrowa.pl).
At
the moment, in Poland there are three research centers dedicated to the nuclear
power that are united in single National Institute for Nuclear Research. The
institute consists of: the National Institute for Nuclear Research in Swierk,
National Research Centre of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology in Warsaw and the
Institute of Nuclear Physics in Krakow.
Polish Nuclear Reactors : starting in the 60s
The
Institute for Nuclear Research owned/owns several nuclear reactors, for the
research purposes. The first nuclear reactor “Ewa” was launched on June 14,
1958. Scientists have used it to produce radioisotopes and research on neutron
beams with horizontal channels. The reactor became a major world center for
research and development of nuclear technology (elektrownia-jadrowa.pl).
On
December 17, 1974 the largest and, in the same time, currently the only Polish
research nuclear reactor “Maria” (today 30 MW) has reached a critical state.
This day is considered to be the beginning of his work, because after that
point, scientists had optimal conditions for a self-sustaining chain reaction
to research upon. Although originally reactor “Maria” was used as “a case
study” to planned construction of
nuclear power plant Żarnowiec, it
quickly found wider application. Today, reactor “Maria” serves primarily as a
source of high neutron flux, which are used at many research centers as well as
producer of wide range of radioisotopes (exported under the brand Polatom to 76
countries around the world).
Thanks
to the cooperation with the US government reactor “Maria” has secured the
supply of fuel until 2017, which will allow its exploitation to the end of
2020. Scientists estimate that after carrying out the necessary modernization
work, Polish reactor will operate until 2060.
Current strategy for the development of nuclear power
For
many years, reactor “Maria” has been the only reactor in operation in Poland.
Over the course of a decade when more strict EU environmental law emerged (that
significantly limits emission of GHG ) as well as growing electricity demand,
forced
government
to take a closer look at long-term plan for fulfilling those obligations. In
November
2009, governing parties at the time, the PO-PSL coalition (Civic Platform and
the Polish Peasant Party), published “Polish Energy Policy Strategy until 2050” ( in Polish:
Projekt Polityki energetycznej Polski do 2050 roku). The document states that within 20 years
(until 2029) less than 60 percent of electricity to be produced from coal and
almost 16 per cent of electricity produced in Poland will come from nuclear
fuels. The strategy plans the construction of two nuclear plants, each equipped
with two reactors of total capacity of 4-5 Gwe.
Except
the numerical evidence, the government hopes to tackle other two very important
related to the development of power market in Poland, which are energy security
of the country and future increase in competitiveness and energy efficiency
within the EU internal energy market, that definitely construction of nuclear
power plant would strengthen.
Location
of the nuclear power plant in Poland is still in the process of evaluation, as
it is very complex and difficult research.
In
autumn of 2013, there have been chosen two locations as those of the best
geographical and socio-economic feature: "Choczewo" in the
municipality of Choczewo and "Żarnowiec" in the municipality of
Krokowa, Gniewino. Both locations are still undergoing extensive environmental
testing which are aiming to provide information regarding environmental safety.
The
final choice of the location of the nuclear power plant will take place by
2016. Construction of the power plant is scheduled to start in 2019 years.
Public Opinion
The
public opinion regarding construction of the nuclear power plant in Poland is
rather positive. Forbes reported in December 2014, that Polish are not fearful
in respect to the future construction of the nuclear plant, despite the
explosion of reactor close to the Polish border in the past ( Charnobyl,
Ukraine) and pretty recent catastrophe of the plant in Japan, caused by tsunami.
Approx. 70 percent of respondents, in a poll commissioned by the National
Atomic Energy Agency, stated that they believe that Polish safety standards of
nuclear power will be comparable to (or better) than in other countries.
As
pointed out by the agency, nearly half the respondents, in a survey conducted
in the municipalities that are taken into consideration as the potential
construction site of nuclear power plant, believe that such investment is safer
than waste incineration plants or large industrial plant.
Poland vs. rest of the world ?
Many
countries, after the failure of nuclear power plant in Japan after tsunami,
claimed to decommission many of their plants. According to a report by energy experts GlobalData, Europe will
decommission almost 150 of its nuclear power plants by 2030. If that took
place, the European closures would account for nearly 69% of the total global
number of expected nuclear power reactor closures by 2030 ( inhabitat.com).
It
seems that Poland is taking different direction in its energy strategy than
most of the Western countries, but it does not mean that it is a wrong path. It
is very important to remember that well-maintained, safely managed nuclear
power plants are investments that can provide country with cheap, clean ( there
is no GHG emission) and secure ( in the manner of consistency of supply) energy
for decades and it should not be ignored as a solution to provide sustainable
development of the country.
Based on:
http://biznes.onet.pl/wiadomosci/energetyka/zaskakujacy-zwrot-ws-elektrowni-atomowej-polska-straci-miliony-zlotych/yfmzt
http://www.mg.gov.pl/Bezpieczenstwo+gospodarcze/Energetyka/Polityka+energetyczna
http://inhabitat.com/europe-to-decommission-most-nuclear-power-stations-by-2030/
Picture:
http://www.occupycorporatism.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/nuclear-power.jpg
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