More than half of Poles back the government's plan to build nuclear power stations, a poll reveals.

photo - foto: sxc.hu

Almost 64 percent of the respondents in a survey by the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) said they were in favour of using nuclear energy in Poland.

In January this year, the Polish government approved a nuclear energy programme, which stipulates for the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant by energy group PGE in 2024.

According to the programme, by 2050 Poland should generate some 15 percent of its energy supply in nuclear plants.

In surveys carried out earlier by pollster CBOS the number of Poles who approved of building a nuclear power plant in the country was usually not higher than 50 percent.

The PISM poll was conducted in April, when the conflict in Ukraine was escalating and a growing number of Poles started to be cautious about the country's energy security, says Zuzanna Nowak from the institute.

“The view that our energy security is based on coal is dominant now,” Nowak said, “but it is not a long-term perspective.”

The survey also shows that Poles are in favour of diversifying energy sources.

When asked which technologies should be developed in Poland, 58 percent of the respondents pointed to renewable energy sources, 48 percent to nuclear energy, 21 percent to shale gas extraction, 16 percent to cutting down energy use and 8 percent to coal.(kw/pg)



Source: IAR, PAP