Four German federal states apprehensive about Poland’s nuclear energy plans

“Nuclear power – glowing poison”. Activists of the environmental protection organisation Greenpeace protest against nuclear power at the Isar nuclear power plant on August 4, 2022 in Essenbach, Germany. Photo: Lennart Preiss/Getty Images 

According to current plans, the first nuclear reactor in Poland would be built in the Pomorskie Province. In addition to Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, and Berlin are also calling on Poland to stop this project. 

“Against the background of the devastating nuclear accidents in Chernobyl and Fukushima, plans for further use of nuclear energy should be abandoned in the interests of the population and the environment of all Baltic [sea basin] countries,” reads the statement. 

The Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, which was caused by an earthquake and a tsunami that struck the Japanese coastlin in 2011, has prompted the German government to begin a process of shutting down nuclear power plants in their country. 

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern sent its objections to Warsaw, which were also reported by the Brandenburg ministry of consumer protection, reports the website of the daily “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. 

The head of Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) Tomasz Stępień and the president of Westinghouse Electric Company Energy Systems (WEC) David Durham signed a cooperation agreement following the Polish government’s selection of the American WEC AP1000 technology for the construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant, PEJ announced on Thursday.