Poland might be see nuclear power facilities on the horizon in the next few years. With the EU concerned with air pollution and wanting to decrease CO2 emissions by 60 percent before 2050, everyone is checking their numbers. The Deputy Environment Minister, Tomasz Podgajniak, supports a shift to nuclear power, stressing that there is no other option.
Currently coal is the main source of energy for Poland. Nuclear is the cleanest answer, and the government intends to have the first plant up and running by 2022. However, because the use of coal for power interferes with EU policy, this will probably be arranged sooner.
Most of the 439 nuclear reactors worldwide are located in Europe, and supply 16 percent of global electricity. Central European countries are no exception – with Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Hungary all making good use of the electricity generated from nuclear plants.
Previously Poland had started building a nuclear plant in Zarnowiec, but the project was not finished. Dr. Stanislaw Latek of the National Atomic Energy Agency believes there is potential for investment in the nuclear plants in Poland because for once the social climate is good. In December 2004, a survey by Pentor revealed that more Poles are in favor of such plans (42 percent) then against them (38 percent).
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