The French offer for Poland in the area of nuclear energy will have a strategic dimension; both countries can effectively strive for the proper place of nuclear power in the European transformation, argue the representatives of the French authorities.
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–Expected power cuts, so welcome to the New Green World
The French government is determined to become involved in the field of nuclear energy in Poland. This commitment is part of a long-term partnership established last year during the very successful visit of President Emmanuel Macron to Warsaw
– said the French ambassador, Frederic Billet, on the occasion of the official opening of the company’s Polish office EDF.
EDF returns to Poland
Belonging to 80 percent. it returns to the EDF country a few years after the sale of all Polish conventional assets. The main task of the office is to prepare an offer for the implementation of the Polish program for the Polish government nuclear energy.
The French government appointed its High Representative for Nuclear Cooperation with Poland, Philippe Crouzet. As Crouzet emphasized during the opening of the EDF office, France he vividly supports Polish nuclear ambitions as it takes two strong EU countries, one in the west and one in the east of the community, to “defend” nuclear energy in the European reality.
To defend because the nuclear power plant does not only have friends in the EU. That is why it is so important that France and Poland work together so that the Union recognizes nuclear energy as an absolutely necessary element in the process of decarbonisation.
Crouzet emphasized.
As he assessed, in the European dimension, the Polish nuclear program will encounter many obstacles, and there will certainly be countries that will oppose it. France, through its position in the EU, is able to help here as part of a strategic partnership – emphasized the representative of the French government.
Ambassador Billet, in turn, assessed that both countries have a similar position when it comes to nuclear energy in the Green Deal taxonomy. Both France and Poland were among the countries that asked the European Commission to include the nuclear taxonomy in the nuclear power plant, he recalled.
This is proof of the European dimension of this project
Billet added.
Therefore, as Crouzet pointed out, the French government recognizes the Polish project as a unique opportunity to create a strategic partnership both in the bilateral and European dimension.
We have a similar vision with the Polish government, a similar concept of the atom as an element of sovereignty. Without energy sovereignty, there is no sovereignty, and today there is no energy sovereignty for France and Poland without nuclear energy
– explained the High Representative of the French Government.
As he added, the fact that nuclear energy is zero-emission cannot be undermined, and for countries that do not have sufficient renewable resources, such as Poland and France, it is absolutely necessary to achieve a common European goal – climate neutrality in 2050.
Managing director of the Warsaw office of EDF, Thierry Deschaux, emphasized that the French company is the only European partner that is able to fit into the ambitious Polish nuclear project, using the strengths of the Polish industry.
It is more than a technological and commercial offer. It is a long-term strategic partnership in key dimensions. (…) “With the support of the French government, we will propose various tools and financing options
Deschaux pointed out.
Crouzet recalled, however, that the Polish government would choose the financing model that suits its policy. EDF, on the other hand, has the advantage that it has already used various financing models, and there are plans to build more EPR reactors – six in France, two more in Great Britain, and the French company will also make an offer in the Czech Republic.
No other potential partner can offer this and guarantee a long-term partnership. Neither the Americans nor the Koreans are planning to build further reactors of the types they want to offer to Poland
– added.
Poland’s Energy Policy until 2040 provides for the commissioning of the first reactor in 2033. Ultimately, nuclear sources will have a capacity of 6-9 GW.
We consider the deadline of 2033 to be realistic, but the last bell for the Polish government to make a decision will be the end of 2022
Thierry Deschaux judged.
The French have competition
Americans also want to get involved in the Polish nuclear energy. In October last year, Poland signed an intergovernmental agreement with the US, and Westinghouse received a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) for an initial engineering study related to the development of a nuclear power program in Poland. As reported by “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna” “there have recently been opinions in the industry that in the race for the” Polish nuclear “the Americans have an advantage in the form of greater access to information.” The French therefore face tough competition.
Although it is not yet certain whether the EU will recognize nuclear energy as “green” – support for the nuclear power was expressed in a special letter to the EC by 87 MEPs from 18 EU countries – but the French hope that this will happen.
The French are also tempting up to 50%. participation of Polish industry in the first phase of the implementation of the nuclear power program. The company has identified 358 potential Polish partners
– we read in “DGP”.
aw / PAP / Dziennik Gazeta Prawna
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