Poland Earmarks $1.2 Billion to Start First Nuclear Plant

(Bloomberg) -- Poland plans to earmark 4.6 billion zloty ($1.2 billion) in the 2025 budget to begin preparations for building the nation’s first nuclear power plant.

Poland needs both renewable energy and nuclear generation to reduce cost of electricity, Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said in Olsztyn, northeast Poland. He outlined the initial expenditures for what would be the country’s biggest-ever investment days before a cabinet meeting to approve next year’s budget draft.

Earlier this month, the government assumed it would have to secure about 60 billion zloty for the project in 2025-2030 period, before it would get further financing from the US, which supplies the technology. The plan estimates the launch of the plant located at the Baltic Sea in about 10 years.

--With assistance from Natalia Ojewska.