Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear plant by Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe: status and timeline

Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear plant

Give coal-heavy Poland a large, steady source of low-carbon power, with the first of three reactors on the grid in 2036.

PilotStage 3 of 5

Site cleared by regulator; licence application filed Mar 2026; EPC signing due end of 2026.

Updated 18d agoChecked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · EPC contract signed

Westinghouse AP1000 chosen for the first plantNov 2022Complete.
Engineering services contract with Westinghouse and BechtelSep 2023Complete.
EU approves state aid package9 Dec 2025Complete.
Construction licence application filed31 Mar 2026Complete.
EPC contract signedTarget Q4 2026Current milestone.
First nuclear concreteTarget Q4 2028Not yet reached.
Unit 1 in commercial operationTarget 2036+36 mo~~originally 2033~~Not yet reached.

Most important updates

Upcoming

Q4 2026EPC contract signed (next)
Q4 2028First nuclear concrete
2036Unit 1 in commercial operation+36 mo~~originally 2033~~

Current obstacles

Final EPC contract not yet signedMain terms were agreed in Sep 2026, but the rest of the contract is still under negotiation; work runs on an interim agreement until signing at end-2026.
Construction licence reviewThe regulator has up to 24 months to rule on the application, not counting time PEJ needs to answer its questions.
Schedule already moved backFirst power was once aimed at 2033; the plan now targets 2036, with about seven years of construction per reactor.

Physics limits

Big reactors are slow to buildA gigawatt plant needs thousands of tonnes of nuclear-grade concrete and steel, all inspected to strict standards, so a build takes most of a decade.
Heat-to-power ceilingWater reactors run at about 300°C, so physics caps turning heat into electricity at roughly a third; the rest leaves as waste heat into the sea.
Long-lived spent fuelUsed fuel stays dangerously radioactive for thousands of years and must be cooled, stored and finally buried deep underground.

How it works

4 parts

Reactor

Pressurised water reactor

Uranium fuel splits atoms and heats water kept under high pressure so it can't boil; that water heats a second loop that makes steam for a turbine.

Safety

Passive cooling

In an emergency, AP1000 cools itself with gravity-fed water tanks and natural air flow, with no pumps or operator action needed for 72 hours.

Build

Modules built off-site

Large steel modules are fabricated in factories and lifted into place, meant to shorten the work done at the site.

Grid

Steady baseload power

Each unit runs near full output around the clock, helping replace the coal plants Poland still leans on.

Spec sheet

Spec	Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear plant
Total capacity	3,750 MWe^R (reported)
Reactors	3 x AP1000^R (reported)
Estimated investment	PLN 192B (about $49B)^R (reported)
State equity injection	PLN 60B (about EUR 14B)^R (reported)
Price contract term	40 years^R (reported)
Preparatory works area	About 330 ha^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

5 updates

About Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe

The team behind Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear plant

Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe

Poland's first nuclear plant, 3 x AP1000

Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) is the state-owned company building Poland's first nuclear power plant: three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at Lubiatowo-Kopalino on the Baltic coast. It was spun out of the PGE utility group in 2021.

Three AP1000 units, 3,750 MWe in total; the first is due in commercial service in 2036, the last in 2038.
EU approved the state aid in Dec 2025: PLN 60B of equity, guarantees on all debt and a 40-year price contract.
Main EPC terms agreed with Westinghouse-Bechtel in Sep 2026; the contract is to be signed by end of 2026.

pej.pl (opens pej.pl)Company profile →

Headquarters: Poland
Status: Governmentof Polish State Treasury
Valuation: government
Works in: EnergyFission
Coverage: 1 program · 5 updateslatest 18d agochecked 11 Oct
Partners: National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA) (opens gov.pl)
Suppliers: WestinghouseBechtel (opens bechtel.com)
People: Marek Woszczyk (opens pej.pl)President of the Management Board

Spec

Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear plant

Total capacity

3,750 MWe^R (reported)

Reactors

3 x AP1000^R (reported)

Estimated investment

PLN 192B (about $49B)^R (reported)

State equity injection

PLN 60B (about EUR 14B)^R (reported)

Price contract term

40 years^R (reported)

Preparatory works area

About 330 ha^R (reported)

Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear plant

Milestones

Most important updates

Upcoming

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Pressurised water reactor

Passive cooling

Modules built off-site

Steady baseload power

Spec sheet

Update log

Wed 23 Sep

Fri 8 May

Tue 31 Mar

Tue 9 Dec 2025

Tue 2 Sep 2025

About Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Pressurised water reactor

Passive cooling

Modules built off-site

Steady baseload power

Spec sheet

Update log

Wed 23 Sep

Fri 8 May

Tue 31 Mar

Tue 9 Dec 2025

Tue 2 Sep 2025

About Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe