WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's first nuclear plan is realistically seen starting operations in 2040, several years later than planned by the previous government, Industry Minister Marzena Czarnecka said on Tuesday.
"We cautiously assume that it will be 2040, our predecessors had an optimistic scenario of 2032, without having much on the table," Czarnecka told an industry conference.
"I'm realistic, we know very well that all investments of this type are usually delayed," she said.
Poland's new government has already signaled a delay in plans to build the country's first nuclear power plant by 2033 as it reworks climate and energy plans of the previous administration.
The government of Law and Justice (PiS) chose Westinghouse Electric to build the plant on the Baltic coast, but the financing model to build it has not been decided, while an environmental permit for the plant was issued in 2023 instead of 2022.
(Reporting by Marek Strzelecki; editing by David Evans)
