Warsaw (Platts)--14Jul2010/648 am EDT/1048 GMT



Poland and the US signed Tuesday a nuclear energy cooperation agreement, the Polish economy ministry said.

The deal, which covers, among other things, the regulatory framework for a nuclear power sector, was signed by Polish deputy economy minister Hanna Trojanowska and the US Commerce Department's undersecretary, Francisco Sanchez.

Poland's largest power company, Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE), which has been tasked by the government to construct two nuclear reactors, each with a capacity of 3,000 MW, has recently signed a number of non-exclusive cooperation agreements with Westinghouse Electric, GE Hitachi and France's EDF. The first plant is scheduled to be commissioned in 2020.

Poland fast-tracked the creation of a nuclear power sector in January last year during the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute. The government plans to meet 15% of its energy needs from nuclear power by 2030.

Currently the country produces close to 95% of its power from coal or lignite. In the early 1990s Poland abandoned plans to construct a nuclear reactor in Zarnowiec, northern Poland, following protests from the local community.

--Adam Easton, newsdesk@platts.com