Prices Will Finally Stabilize. Nuclear Power Will Be Cheaper Than Coal

• The nuclear projects that Poland is conducting will contribute to the creation of a large number of jobs and the development of new skills, and this will help in the entire transformation, says Marzena Czarnecka.
• 10,000 people will work on the construction of the first nuclear power plant, and at the end we will have energy from safe and cheap sources - she explained.
• Nuclear energy in Poland will eventually replace coal as the stable basis of the power system. Nuclear energy should be treated in the same way as renewable energy sources - she noted.

As emphasized by the Minister of Industry Marzena Czarnecka during the FISA Euradwaste 2025 conference in Warsaw, the nuclear projects that Poland is conducting will contribute to the creation of a large number of jobs and the development of new skills, which will help in the entire transformation.

10,000 people will work on the construction of the first nuclear power plant, and at the end we will have energy from safe and cheap sources

- said Czarnecka.

Nuclear energy is safe, and we are working to make it cheap.

- the minister noted.

She mentioned France as an example and expressed hope that Europe would move in this direction, towards cheap and safe energy.

The head of the Ministry of Industry reminded that nuclear energy in Poland will eventually replace coal as the stable basis of the power system. She added that renewable sources are of great importance in the transformation, but from a legal point of view, nuclear energy should be treated in the same way as RES.

Czarnecka noted that most EU countries consider nuclear energy as something they need , and Poland has its own path of development. She emphasized that the most important thing for the government is that one day Polish companies will find their place in the nuclear business.

The European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zacharieva pointed out in her speech to the conference participants that the next generation of nuclear energy projects require high financial outlays , much larger than the EU's research funds. She also noted that the European Investment Bank is becoming increasingly active in the area of ​​financing nuclear energy.

However, private capital will flow into this sector only if we have demand, an appropriate level of security and a stable regulatory framework.

- said the Commissioner.

According to her, the task is to unify regulations, which are currently highly fragmented and hinder innovation, especially in the area of ​​small modular reactors (SMRs).

This is also the task of the European Alliance for SMR, which also includes Poland.

- Zacharieva noted. And

Another area she pointed to is attracting the world’s best talent in this field to the EU.

William Magwood, Director General of the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), recalled that its analyses clearly show that achieving the climate neutrality goals in 2050 is not possible without a significant contribution from nuclear energy.

Magwood noted that the big challenge for all countries wanting to develop nuclear energy will be financing it. That is why the NEA is persuading the World Bank to get more involved in financing nuclear energy, especially in the countries of the so-called global south, which need new sources of energy and the means to finance them.

Jacek Bylica, director of the office of the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that African countries, for example, keep asking when SMR-type structures will be available on the market and how to finance them.

He estimated that about six different SMR designs should enter the market within 5-6 years, which would reduce the price of entry into nuclear power.

To speed up these processes, it is necessary to standardize and harmonize the regulatory approach.

- he added.

Bylica noted that on the issue of financing, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi had already spoken to the World Bank and it turned out that the last time the World Bank granted a loan for nuclear energy was in 1957 - to Italy.

It turns out that there are some guidelines of unclear origin that have determined the WB policy for decades

- he emphasized.

He added that the IAEA had already discussed the matter with World Bank lawyers and, he admitted, some changes in its approach had already occurred.