16 Sep (NucNet): Poland intends to build two nuclear power stations with a total of four to five units by the mid-2030s, the president of the country’s National Atomic Energy Agency said.

Janusz Wlodarski told the 59th session of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s general conference in Vienna that the combined output of the units will be around 6,000 megawatts with the first unit scheduled to begin commercial operation in the mid-2020s.



Mr Wlodarski said Poland’s government will adopt a national plan on radioactive waste management by the end of the year. He said a development plan for human resources for the nuclear power industry is in the final stages of preparation.



Mr Wlodarski said implementation of a new nuclear power programme is an “ongoing challenge” for Poland. IAEA missions in the past two years have identified ways to address the challenge and a follow-up Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission is planned for 2017.



IRRS missions are designed to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of a state’s national regulatory infrastructure, the IAEA said.



Mr Wlodarski said one of the main challenges is strengthening Poland’s nuclear regulator and making it “modern, professional and thoroughly transparent”. He said the regulator has sent staff overseas for training in countries including France, the UK, the US and Canada.



Last year Polish utility Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) said it plans to make a decision on construction of new nuclear in early 2017 after it has developed a business and investment model which will ensure the profitability of the project.



Poland’s Ministry of Economy said in May 2014 that Poland is planning to generate 12 percent of its electricity from nuclear by 2030 with its first reactor in commercial operation in 2024.

