Poland planning to build first nuclear power plant
Tusk says cooperation on small nuclear reactors important too
Says Poland needs more energy if it is to build big data centres
Adds background, Tusk quote on Google
WARSAW, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Poland and Canada have signed an agreement that provides a legal framework for more intensive cooperation on nuclear power, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday after meeting his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau.
Poland, which is working to reduce its reliance on coal, has chosen Westinghouse Electric to build its first nuclear plant on the Baltic Sea coast, but financing is still not fully agreed.
It is now preparing to start the process of choosing a partner for a second plant.
"Canada is the main provider of technology for Poland's first nuclear plant - Westinghouse is owned by Canadian companies," Tusk said. "Cooperation on small nuclear reactors $(SMR)$ is also very important."
In 2023, Poland gave the green light for the construction of 24 SMR units across six sites, Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE), a joint venture between Poland's biggest refiner Orlen PKN.WA and chemicals company Synthos, said.
The company plans to deploy the country's first small reactors by 2030.
Tusk also said on Tuesday that Poland needs new energy sources if it wants to become a leader in new technologies.
"This morning I met with the head of Google, who, without any prompting, said that Poland should become a European centre when it comes to artificial intelligence and cybersecurity," he said.
"For Poland to become a leader of modern technologies and a certain model for behaviour throughout Europe - for this we need particular source of energy. If we are going to build large data centres, it requires additional energy sources."
(Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz and Alan Charlish. Writing by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk. Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Mark Potter)
((anna.wlodarczak@thomsonreuters.com;))
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