Orlen Synthos Green Energy seeks approval for BWRX-300 reactor in second nuclear power plant tender

Orlen Synthos Green Energy has made a formal attempt to enter the strategic tender for the construction of Poland's second nuclear power plant. In an official letter addressed to the Minister of Energy, it requested the admission of the BWRX-300 reactor technology into the competitive dialogue. This is a direct response to earlier actions by the Ministry, which invited Canadian company AtkinsRealis for talks, offering the heavy-water Candu 6 reactor with a capacity below 700 MW. In its position, OSGE indicates that the ministry's decision to engage in dialogue with a company offering a unit with a capacity significantly lower than the initially assumed 1000+ MW is a clear change of course. The company interprets this as an opening towards smaller technologies, creating a historic opportunity for solutions in the small modular reactor category. „Zaproszenie AtkinsRealis [...] oznacza, że ME bierze pod uwagę reaktory o znacząco mniejszej mocy niż to było wcześniej i ocenia, że skierowanie uwagi na mniejsze jednostki to krok w dobrym kierunku.” (The invitation to AtkinsRealis [...] means that the Ministry of Energy is considering reactors with significantly lower capacity than before and assesses that focusing attention on smaller units is a step in the right direction.) — OSGE OSGE argues that including its project, based on advanced American technology, will fundamentally strengthen the competitiveness of the entire tender process. Consequently, the government will gain a stronger negotiating position to secure the most favorable contract terms. The Polish government's Polish Nuclear Power Program (PPEJ) assumes the construction of the first nuclear power plant at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino location using American Westinghouse AP1000 technology. This program, announced in 2020, is a response to decades of discussion about the need to diversify energy sources and reduce dependence on coal. The decision to build a second power plant is the next stage in implementing this strategic energy policy. The company emphasizes that it possesses the most current and verified technical and economic data regarding the BWRX-300 project, which is intended to be its asset in potential negotiations. The Ministry of Energy confirmed to the PAP news agency that it had received the letter with this request, indicating the official start of its consideration. The ministry's decision will be crucial for shaping Poland's energy mix in the coming decades and for the competitiveness of the domestic industry, which is counting on orders from this investment. This "poker move," as commentators call it, begins a key phase in the technology selection process for the second power plant.