South Korea to help Poland with nuclear energy

Oct. 31 (UPI) -- The Polish government said Monday that an agreement with South Korea over nuclear energy offers a new sense of security, given the current geopolitical climate.

State-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), Polish energy group ZE Pak and state-owned power company Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) signed a letter of intent in Seoul to work together on the development of a nuclear power plant in Poland.

Nuclear energy fell out of favor after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011, the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl incident in 1986. It's back in vogue, however, as the economies of Europe work to break Russia's grip on the regional energy sector as punishment for the war in Ukraine.

Poland was once completely dependent on Russia for natural gas.

"We need sources of cheap and stable energy in Poland," said Jacek Sasin, Poland's deputy prime minister. "Nuclear energy is indispensable in Polish conditions, especially in the current geopolitical situation."

Sasin said the project would ultimately support the independence of the Polish energy system with its estimated 60-year lifespan.

Both sides said they'd conduct seismic and environmental studies at a site some 150 miles west of the Polish capital, Warsaw. A preliminary plan for development is expected before the end of the year.

Poland's move is part of a growing regional trend. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in mid-October ordered the country's three remaining nuclear power plants to stay open until mid-April in an effort to stave off a worsening energy crisis caused by Russia's war in Ukraine.

Poland last week set up a partnership between the U.S. government and nuclear energy provider Westinghouse to build a separate facility in the country. That builds on a memorandum of understanding signed between Westinghouse and 10 Polish companies in January.