Three powerful U.S. companies with a sizeable presence in the nuclear power industry, Westinghouse, GE Steam Power and Bechtel, said they had signed an agreement to cooperate on nuclear power projects in Poland.
“Poland is taking visionary steps to transition to a clean energy economy while retaining its energy independence and security,” said Ahmet Tokpinar, operations manager of Bechtel’s Nuclear Power business line. “The cooperation with GE Steam Power, along with future additions from the Polish supply chain, will form a team with local talent and proven, hands-on experience in nuclear project delivery.”
Bechtel and Westinghouse are preparing a front-end engineering design (FEED) for a plant on a site chosen by Poland on the Baltic Sea coast, for the Polish Nuclear Power Plant program. The FEED is partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.
Elias Gedeon, SVP Commercial Operations of Westinghouse Energy Systems said Westinghouse was “well-positioned to help in Poland,” citing success of the company’s AP1000 technology. Westinghouse already has investments in Poland and has local manufacturing units as part of its supply chain.
Bechtel has designed, built, or provided services to 80 nuclear reactors in the United States and 150 worldwide, across all major reactor designs. Westinghouse and Bechtel are currently completing a two-reactor expansion of Plant Vogtle in the United States using AP1000 technology.