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Looks like Poland can’t afford AREVA”s (or anybody’s) nukes

“Poland’s nuclear target sounds a little bit tough to me as there are few financing opportunities out there right now,”

Analysis: Polish nuclear project faces further delays, By Patryk Wasilewski   Sep 14, 2010 WARSAW (Reuters) – Legal hurdles, funding problems and a lack of skilled workers will likely push Poland’s plans to build the country’s first nuclear power plant beyond 2022, further delaying the some 18-billion euro project……
“Poland’s nuclear target sounds a little bit tough to me as there are few financing opportunities out there right now,” Kaan Nazli, Director for Emerging Europe at the U.S.-based Medley Global Advisors, told Reuters…….

Poland, which plans to build two nuclear plants with a total installed capacity of 6,000 megawatts, in August pushed back its original deadline for the first bloc to 2022 from 2020 due to technology constraints that surfaced after talks with three potential suppliers.

Officials at Areva, which is one of three companies seeking to help build the plant, told local media this week the original 2020 deadline was possible but analysts suggest even the 2022 target is likely overambitious.

“If you look around the region at the ongoing nuclear projects all of them suffer from delays, we are not going to be an exception,” an energy market analyst at international consultancy said…..

Safety concerns in a region where many people associate nuclear power with the 1986 Chernobyl accident which contaminated vast areas of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia could also slow the project.

Polish Atomic Agency head Michal Waligorski, who will be responsible for safety oversight during construction, pointed to Finland where restrictive safety policies contributed to a more than three-year delay.

Analysis: Polish nuclear project faces further delays | Reuters

September 15, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, EUROPE | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, reactors