State-owned utility PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. (PGE) is leading Poland’s efforts to develop the country’s first two nuclear generating stations and is currently evaluating several reactor technologies for these plants, including two GEH reactor designs: the 1,350-megawatt (MWe) ABWR and the 1,520- MWe ESBWR. The ESBWR is GEH’s newest reactor design that offers the world’s most advanced passive safety systems.

These MOUs are the latest of several for GEH in Poland as a growing number of countries prepare to build new nuclear power plants to generate low-carbon electricity and strengthen their energy security. GEH previously signed an agreement with global engineering services firm SNC-Lavalin Polska to collaborate on potential projects in Poland.

"Stocznia Gdansk believes that this MOU, which provides an opportunity to provide large steel components for potential future nuclear power plant construction, is in line with the strategy for the Gdansk Shipyard and development of the company," said Andrzej Stoklosa, president of Stocznia Gdansk S.A. "Over the last two years, Stocznia Gdansk has invested heavily in its infrastructure in order to create a modern and highly advanced production facility. This was done for large projects like what may be needed by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy in future new nuclear plant orders."

"RAFAKO considers nuclear energy a substantial part of future power generation in Poland," said Krzysztof Burek, vice president of the board, RAFAKO S.A. "We have a strong tradition in building components for nuclear projects in other countries and look forward to the opportunity to apply our expertise in project execution, production capabilities, quality assurance and engineering capacity to GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy for potential nuclear projects in Poland."

Executives from RAFAKO S.A., Stocznia Gdansk, Gdansk University of Technology, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin University and Koszalin University of Technology, as well as regional authorities and representatives of the Polish Parliament, were present for GEH’s MOU announcements today at Stocznia Gdansk.

“These agreements provide the potential for a significant expansion of GEH’s global equipment supply chain, underscoring our commitment to deliver new nuclear power plants on a predictable time schedule and on budget while supporting the Polish economy,” said Danny Roderick, GEH’s senior vice president of new plant projects. "Energy independence, security and safety are critical elements for Poland’s energy and economic future.”

GEH further committed to a strong Polish workforce with today’s agreements with the universities to train Polish students on nuclear technology and offer internships for Polish students this summer in the United States. GE currently has more than 10,000 employees in Poland.

Along with these agreements, GEH also donated two GE GateCycleTM software licenses to Gdansk University of Technology to help train a new generation of highly skilled nuclear engineers to operate the new facilities. In 2010, GEH donated five licenses to the Warsaw University of Technology. GE’s customized GateCycle heat balance software is used to model nuclear steam cycles and is a valuable tool in teaching engineering students advanced methods of plant modeling and troubleshooting to optimize plant performance.

Today, about 94 percent of Poland’s electricity comes from domestic coal-fired power plants. Poland plans to build its new reactors to help reduce the country’s dependence on coal-based technologies and overall national emissions levels as Poland and other European Union members seek to reduce their emissions by at least 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. Nuclear energy is an attractive option because it generates electricity with near-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

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