NRI Annual Review 2026 - Flipbook - Page 33
Meeting future energy supply needs will require around:
40
gigawatts
of new capacity
annually until
2050
Licensing SMRs introduces further
operational complications, particularly when
commercial models called for siting these
reactors inside industrial manufacturing
zones or near high-density population
centres. There is a need to adapt legacy
frameworks, completely integrate disparate
permitting procedures, and ensure crossborder consistency while strictly satisfying
binding international treaty obligations.
Poland’s state nuclear power program
represents a highly coordinated, strategic
effort to circumvent these bottlenecks
and fundamentally restructure a nation’s
energy mix. Kamil Adamczyk, Expert for
Nuclear Regulations and Licensing at
Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, detailed
Nuclear energy is rapidly
transforming from a
traditional alternative
power source into an
indispensable pillar of
national economic and
energy security.
Equivalent to building roughly
20 large-scale reactors
and 70 SMRs each year for
the next quarter-century.
how the Polish programme was initiated
to decarbonise an electricity grid that
historically relied on coal for over 80% of its
total generation, with a primary target to
construct two large-scale nuclear power
stations with a combined capacity of 6
to 9 gigawatts. To eliminate bureaucratic
roadblocks, the Polish state passed
landmark legislation to accelerate nonnuclear licensing, and this framework
introduced the “decision in principle”, a
powerful statutory mechanism providing
binding political certainty to investors prior
to major capital expenditure, alongside
streamlined site surveys and flexible
administrative processes that allowed
multiple state agencies to process permits
simultaneously.
Rapid technological evolution also presents
a dual-use profile within the security
landscape, and, potentially, new kinds of
risk. Dr. Elena Buglova, Director of the
Division of Nuclear Security at the IAEA,
pointed out that technologies such as
artificial intelligence, wireless industrial
automation, and advanced reactor concepts
offer substantial operational efficiencies
but simultaneously introduce novel digital
vulnerabilities across the cybersecurity
vector.
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