en.Wedoany.com Reported - Polish clean energy developer Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE) has formally submitted an application to Poland's Minister of Energy, requesting Contract for Difference (CfD) support for a total of 14 BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) at three sites. The three sites are located in Włocławek, Stawy Monowskie near Oświęcim, and Stalowa Wola, representing the first phase of OSGE's larger deployment plan. The company has previously received in-principle approval from the Polish government, with a final plan to build 26 BWRX-300 units nationwide.
A Contract for Difference is a price stabilization mechanism for electricity: when the market electricity price falls below the agreed strike price, the government compensates the generator for the difference; when the market price exceeds the strike price, the generator returns the surplus to the government. OSGE CEO Rafał Kasprów stated that CfDs for the 14 units would enable the company to establish a BWRX-300 reactor fleet in Poland, reducing unit costs through scale, standardization, and modularization, thereby creating a competitively priced power generation model.
In December 2025, the European Commission determined that public support for Poland's large-scale nuclear power plant project (three Westinghouse AP1000 units by PEJ) complies with EU state aid rules. OSGE Deputy Board Chairman Bartosz Fijałkowski noted that this case demonstrates the European Commission can efficiently approve CfDs for nuclear projects, and that Brussels' attitude toward SMR support is increasingly positive, with the company confident in the approval of its application.
According to OSGE's plan, the first BWRX-300 unit will begin commercial operation in Włocławek in 2032. The BWRX-300 is a 300-megawatt water-cooled, natural circulation small reactor developed by GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, equipped with passive safety systems, and its technology is based on the ESBWR design already certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Currently, the world's first BWRX-300 unit is under construction at Ontario Power Generation's Darlington site in Canada, scheduled for completion by the end of this decade, and will serve as a reference for the OSGE project.
