Warsaw turns to nuclear

Poland is making plans for its first ever nuclear power plant. Warsaw daily Polska has learned that the Ministry of Finance is inviting energy companies like Energoprojekt Warszawa to come up with a cost estimate. Energoprojekt, that drew up in the 1980s the plans for a nuclear power plant in Żarnowiec in northern Poland (eventually voted down by local residents) argues that nuclear power will be ultimately beneficial in terms of price. CEO Andrzej Patrycy argues that the EU’s long-term policy is geared towards a reduction in coal consumption, on which the Polish power industry currently relies. "If Poland decides against nuclear energy, it may have one of Europe’s highest electricity rates 10 years from now," Polska adds. Polish PM Donald Tusk pledged a switch to nuclear at a time when other European countries are also returning to this controversial energy source. Finland is building a radioactive waste dump in Onkalo, and France a new plant in Flamanville. Like Britain, which in a recent White Paper calls for more nuclear plants, Italy has recently declared it a ‘gross mistake” to have turned away from the technology in 1987 after the Chernobyl disaster.