U.S. firm Westinghouse Electric Co will build Poland's first nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday, confirming a long-awaited decision aiming to reduce the country's carbon emissions and phase out coal.
With Russia waging war in neighbouring Ukraine, Poland's choice of a partner from the United States underlines the emphasis Warsaw places on relations with Washington at a time when its security is in the spotlight.
Westinghouse was competing with South Korea's state-owned Korea Hydro Nuclear Power, which submitted an offer in April. Warsaw was also talking to French companies about the project. The selection of Westinghouse and of the United States sent a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin "about the strength and the meshing together of a U.S.-Poland alliance," the official said.