With climate change becoming the primary threat to the world, nations are seeking greener options. Poland has decided to make a move in the coming years and support the Sustainable Development Goals, stressing over running the world on greener energy.
On Friday, Poland released an official statement confirming that the US and Westinghouse will be helping them build their first-ever nuclear power plant. The prime minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, said that the country would use the “reliable and safe technology” of Westinghouse Electric Company. At the same time, the US-Poland solid bilateral partnership will stamp the successful completion of our joint ventures.
Poland is Europe’s worst-hit country in terms of pollution, and the air quality has been deteriorating with time, causing great trouble to healthcare. Therefore, their plans to switch to green energy have been in discussion for many years to tackle it.
Despite efforts to decarbonize, Poland is still heavily reliant on coal. In 2021, the country’s power plants were fueled exclusively by coal. In 2010, the country of Poland produced 86.6% of its energy from coal, but this is not enough to meet the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality goal, so in 2020 they started a plan to replace some coal-fired facilities with nuclear, solar, and wind power.
Experts are predicting that the energy crisis in 2022 could disrupt the country’s progress toward a greener future.
About six months ago, Russian troops invaded and are currently occupying part of the Ukrainian territory. Recently, Russia has not only been a nation that supplies most of Eastern Europe’s energy needs, but Putin has also used it as a negotiating tactic with Western countries in an effort to gain more power. Thus, the problems of energy supplies can escalate further if the war is prolonged, and to avoid that, Poland has shifted its focus to self-reliance.
Further, the US government seems to be very supportive and acknowledges its friend’s decision. Jennifer Granholm, US Energy Secretary, said that the $40 billion power plant project would sustain more than 100,000 jobs for American workers. She also tweeted the strategic purpose of this step and called it a “significant step towards building and strengthening the energy security in Poland for the future generations.”
The seal on this deal sends a message to the world that the west is against the “weaponization of energy,” which Russia is doing at present. The United States sticks to its statement of “standing together against the unprovoked aggression of Russia and will diversify the energy supply and bolstering climate cooperation.”
Under this deal, three nuclear power plants will be built in the northern part of Poland. The Polish officials say that these plants will be functional by the start of 2033 and should start producing electricity by the end of the same year.
Offers from France and South Korea were also in line and were considered by Poland. And there are some speculations that Poland might be considering support from South Korea in the project, but nothing is clear or official for now.
