Nuclear power campaign seeks to convince Poles

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“It will not be money or technical issues that decide where the plant will be constructed,” Professor Andrzej Kraszewski from Warsaw Polytechnic told Polish Radio.

“It will be decided by whether such facilities will be accepted by the public living near [the proposed sites]” he argued.

Three sites on the Baltic coast are currently under consideration: Zarnowiec, Gaski amd Choczewo.

Another site was dropped last year when the inhabitants of Mielno voted overwhelmingly against the idea in a local referendum (94 percent were opposed to the construction proposal).

State-owned power company Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) is nevertheless trying to convince residents living near the other three sites.

“We are talking with opponents and supporters of the construction of the power plant,” Joanna Zajac, PR spokesperson for PGE's nuclear energy department, told Polish Radio.

“We try to be present at local events, and we prepare educational picnics,” she said.

“We also organized two trips to nuclear power plants in Europe,” she added.

The government stated in August last year that it hoped that the plant would be up and running by 2023.

However, Professor Kraszewski stresses that local inhabitants need to be heard.

“They are saying, among other things, what they are afraid about, and their concerns need to be answered honestly,” he said. (nh)