The US finances the transition from coal to (American) nuclear power in Slovakia and Poland
US environmental envoy John Kerry announced the recipients of financial awards related to the transition from coal to nuclear power at a side event at the Three Seas Initiative summit in Bucharest on September 6, which brings together eastern European countries. enclosed between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas.
Project Phoenix, announced last year by US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry at the COP27 climate conference, aims to support energy security and climate goals by creating pathways for converting power plants from coal to SMR , while maintaining local jobs through reskilling the workforce. The successful proposals that received a share of $8 million in U.S. government support were selected through a competitive process open to 17 Central and Eastern European countries.
The grant application submitted by a partnership including the Slovak company Slovenské elektrárne proposed five Slovak sites to be subjected to feasibility studies for the installation of an SMR : the sites of the Jaslovské Bohunice and Mochovce nuclear power plants; the sites of the Nováky and Vojany thermoelectric power plants; and the US Steel mill site in eastern Slovakia. The feasibility study will evaluate several aspects and select the most suitable sites for the possible future construction of small modular reactors, Slovenské elektrárne said.
Slovakia's Economy Minister Peter Dovhun said the success of Phoenix's candidacy was "excellent news" for the country. “It confirms that we have a lot to offer our partners thanks to our long experience in the nuclear energy sector, and also gives us the opportunity to accelerate the preparation of new projects important for the success of our energy transformation,” he said. She said.
Slovenské elektrárne President and CEO Branislav Strýček said support from the Phoenix project means Slovakia is “one step closer” towards building an SMR. “We believe that the implementation of new technologies, including small modular reactors, is part of the solution to our energy needs. Small modular reactors are not intended to replace existing nuclear or renewable sources. Instead, they complement our energy mix to secure energy and protect the environment,” he said.
Polish company Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE) said it will use funds awarded to it under the Phoenix project to study a site in Ostrołęka. Ostrołęka is one of seven locations selected earlier this year by OSGE for further geological investigations to host SMR plants based on GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300, for which it holds the exclusive right in Poland.
It seems quite obvious that the money will finance studies aimed at using US SMR (small modular reactor) technology, mostly produced by American companies, such as General Electric or Westinghouse. It would be interesting to know if these non-repayable loans, not enormous, but still interesting, would have been paid even if Eastern European companies had decided to install Chinese Hualong One reactors.
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The article US finances transition from coal to nuclear power (American) in Slovakia and Poland comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/gli-usa-finanziano-la-transizione-dal-carbone-al-nucleare-americano-in-slovacchia-e-polonia/ on Sun, 10 Sep 2023 09:35:12 +0000.