Bechtel and Westinghouse are constructing Poland’s first nuclear power plant. In early September, NS&E General Manager Ahmet Tokpinar, President and COO Craig Albert, and other company leaders traveled to Poland to visit the project site and meet with Polish officials and project investor, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (Polish Nuclear Power Plants).
Today, we asked Ahmet to share an update on the team’s progress, and what it means to deliver a project of this scale and significance. Check out the Q&A below.
1. Work is well underway on Poland’s first nuclear power plant. Can you tell us about the progress Bechtel-Westinghouse has made so far?
We’ve been focused on optimizing the design of the plant’s “nuclear island,” or the area where the nuclear reactors will sit, as well as completing site-specific conceptual design engineering, most of which is taking place in offices in Warsaw, Krakow, and the U.S. To give you an idea of the scale of this endeavor: the Bechtel-Westinghouse team is responsible for 467 deliverables, each representing a part of the plant that must be designed in the first phase. So far, I’m proud to report that we have finished 241 of these deliverables already. This means we’re more than halfway through the initial design phase, putting us on pace to finish it as planned by April 2025.
Designing and building a large, state-of-the-art nuclear power plant is complex and highly technical work. In addition, it requires navigating extensive permitting processes, setting up robust supply chains, and marshaling a massive amount of labor, supplies, and equipment. Doing this work and doing it right takes time, expertise, and strict rigor around safety and quality assurance. These are the strengths that Bechtel and Westinghouse bring to every project—and it’s what we’re bringing to Poland.
2. Has work begun at the actual job site? How is it going?
Yes. We mobilized a team at the job site in late May, which has been conducting the necessary geotechnical investigations and analyses for the nuclear island. The study is critically important; it’s how we gather the geologic, seismologic, and soil data that inform our foundation and structure design.
As I said earlier, the Bechtel-Westinghouse team brings US nuclear safety standards, recognized as the “gold” standard, to our projects. In this case, that means all of our contractors and subcontractors working on the geotechnical studies must be qualified under our nuclear quality assurance program. Polish companies we are partnering with don’t yet have this qualification, so they’ve had to go through Bechtel’s certification program. Still, even with this added layer of training, we have 12 active rigs at the site collecting samples for laboratory testing. And we’re on track to complete the geotechnical work for phase 1.
3. You mentioned earlier the importance of building supply chains and marshaling the labor, supplies, and equipment. What is the status of these workstreams?
One of the most important challenges in building a project like this is placing orders for specialized equipment and components that require long lead times to manufacture and deliver. In the case of our project, two of the biggest orders are for the steam turbines and generators that convert the heat from the reactor into electricity, and the large structural modules for the reactor auxiliary building. We’re currently evaluating bids for these components and are on track to select a vendor in the first quarter of next year.
On the workforce and supplier fronts, we’ve recently launched new partnerships with the Gdansk and Warsaw technical universities to create nuclear career development programs to help train the next generation of nuclear engineers. We’ve also held numerous supplier conferences, workshops, and symposiums to identify local businesses as potential partners and share information on what type of work is available, what qualifications they need, and how they can position themselves to become a supplier. We’re seeing tremendous interest and support. A recent supplier conference in Gdansk and Gdynia was attended by 150 local companies, and this month, we are organizing a similar event for an additional 120 companies.
4. Are you seeing similar support and enthusiasm among public officials?
Megaprojects like Poland’s first nuclear plant naturally attract a lot of attention, questions, and diverse perspectives. People rightly want to know what effect it will have on their community. Our job is to communicate that information clearly, consistently, and transparently. We want the community members and leaders to be fully confident in our ability to build a safe plant.
Our engagement efforts have helped generate strong support across Poland’s political parties and on the national and regional levels. This was very evident on our recent trip. The leadership team and I were excited and encouraged by what we heard directly from Polish officials. Government leaders, including the Minister of Industry Marzena Czarnecka and the Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Maciej Bando, continue to champion the project.
Beata Rutkiewicz, a governor of Pomerania, where the power plant will be built, is also a staunch advocate. She, like many other officials, is excited by the positive economic impact it will have on her community—from new roads and infrastructure that will be built to accommodate construction to the new opportunities the plant will create for businesses and workers. By and large, the Polish government is committed to doing everything in its power to ensure the plant is operational by our projected completion date of 2035.
To that end, the Polish government has taken two very important steps recently: They’ve drafted legislation to budget 60 billion zloty for the project, allocating 4.6 billion for 2025. They’ve also drafted legislation to amend a construction law, which is going to allow early site work to begin before we receive a construction license. These are clear, concrete actions that show the commitment to the project.
5. Why is this project so important to the country and its leadership?
Countries around the globe are embracing nuclear power as a path to achieving greater energy independence and meeting climate goals. That’s why our work in Pomerania is so significant. The project will put Poland ahead of the curve—helping the nation bolster national security, reduce emissions, improve access to long-term, low-cost energy, and lead Europe’s nuclear power renaissance.
This is Poland’s first major step toward expanding its nuclear capacity. And by training workers and strengthening the country’s nuclear supply chain, Bechtel and Westinghouse are not just helping Poland build a single plant—but also lay the foundation for a robust nuclear program that benefits the nation for generations to come.
Bechtel’s Nuclear Power Background
Bechtel’s roots in nuclear power date back to the industry’s inception in the 1950s, when we built the world’s first nuclear reactor to generate usable electricity. In the 70 years since, we have helped customers deliver clean, reliable, cost-effective energy through nuclear power. We have designed, built, or provided construction services on 150 nuclear plants worldwide—from large-scale reactors such as Plant Vogtle and Watts Bar to small modular and advanced reactors like the Natrium Demonstration Project. With a global portfolio that includes new builds, modifications to existing plants, and next-generation technology development, we bring an unparalleled level of experience and expertise to every nuclear project.