A consortium of U.S. energy companies has signed an engineering development agreement with nuclear power plant developer Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe as part of a larger energy security deal covering the construction of nuclear reactors in Poland. The companies, which include Westinghouse and Bechtel, formalized the agreement on Monday at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland, with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright in attendance.
Wright said the deal will “truly be a joint endeavor that will include not just the construction of a very large power plant that will power the Polish economy for decades to come but also mark the start of a long-term nuclear cooperation between the United States and Poland that will result in building future reactors.”
The EDA is a step toward realizing the first Westinghouse AP-1000 nuclear power plant in the Central European nation’s Choczewo, Pomeranian Voivodeship, kicking off the facility’s design, sitework, regulatory and procurement activities.
Under the deal, Bechtel will build the AP-1000 nuclear facility, an effort that is expected to generate 40,000 U.S. manufacturing, engineering and other related jobs. Construction is scheduled to commence in 2026.
Bechtel recently named Ed Gore to lead the Poland AP1000 Nuclear Power Project. He brings over 30 years of engineering, procurement and construction experience.