At a glance
On 13 August 2026, the President of Poland signed the amendment to the Act on the Preparation and Implementation of Investments in Nuclear Energy Facilities and Accompanying Investments ("Special Nuclear Act"). The amendment aims to accelerate and simplify the implementation of investments in the area of nuclear energy while maintaining a high level of safety. New solutions are intended to increase the efficiency of construction of nuclear power plants in Poland and, consequently, to strengthen the country's energy security. The amendment is scheduled to take effect 14 days after its publication. Simultaneously, another draft amendment to the same regulation, which also aims to streamline the process of preparation and implementation of nuclear investments (UD382) has already been published and is subject to public consultation and arrangements at the governmental level.
Key assumptions
- Possibility of phasing nuclear investment: The amendment departs from the previous, rigid solutions, which in practice made it difficult to stage construction works in nuclear investments. The new law introduces greater flexibility in the investment process, allowing for the division of a project into a series of stages. For this purpose, a new solution has been introduced, namely: building permits for the preliminary construction works. Such permits apply to preliminary construction works covering parts of the nuclear power facility that are not yet capable of functioning independently at a given stage. At the same time, the rules for obtaining an occupancy permit have been adjusted so that they correspond to the phasing approach, including the possibility of obtaining an occupancy permit for a part of the nuclear power facility only. Moreover, it is now clearly determined how the provisions of the Construction Law are to be applied to investments carried out in stages, including those concerning nuclear facilities.
- Building permit for preliminary construction works: The amended act defines the types of works that can be considered as 'preliminary construction works' and which may be commenced after obtaining the newly introduced building permit for such works – meaning that the first construction works on the site of a future nuclear facility may commence before obtaining a "regular" building permit for the whole facility. These preliminary construction works have been divided in two groups, however: (i) works that are not significant from the point of view of nuclear safety and radiological protection, and as such not requiring a licence issued by the President of the National Atomic Energy Agency (Państwowa Agencja Atomistyki – PAA) – basic preliminary construction works, and (ii) works that need such a licence for their commencement – qualified preliminary construction works.
- Simplified procedure for a building permit regarding preliminary construction works: For obtaining a building permit regarding preliminary works that are not significant from the point of view of nuclear safety and radiological protection, a simplified procedure is envisaged. Now a single administrative procedure will take place before the competent body for architectural and construction administration, i.e., the provincial governor (voivode). This concerns, among others, earth and drainage works, or development of the construction site along with the construction of temporary construction facilities.
- Comprehensive procedure for a building permit regarding qualified preliminary construction works: With regard to works that are significant for nuclear safety and radiological protection from the point of view of the nuclear regulatory authority and thus requiring a licence from the President of the PAA, the procedure for obtaining a building permit is more extensive compared to the simplified procedure described above. The issuance of a building permit covering qualified preliminary construction works is conditional upon the investor submitting a licence for the execution of preliminary construction works at the nuclear power facility, issued by the President of the PAA authorising these works in terms of nuclear safety and radiological protection. This solution is aimed at ensuring an appropriate level of supervision and control over the implementation of preliminary works, which is of increased importance from the perspective of investment safety.
- Coordination of parallel proceedings: Provisions of the amendment act also ensure proper coordination of parallel proceedings. Conduct of proceedings for the issuance a building permit for a nuclear power facility do not preclude the initiation of proceedings regarding issuance of a building permit covering preliminary construction works for the same facility and vice versa: conduct of proceedings concerning preliminary construction works does not prevent the initiation of proceedings regarding the building permit for the whole nuclear facility. As a result, these changes should translate into a more stable and predictable regulatory environment.
Market context
The current legal regulations contain numerous procedural restrictions, which in practice hinder the efficient preparation and implementation of investments in the field of nuclear energy facilities. These Polish regulations have been largely designed with standard construction investments in mind and do not take into account the specificity of nuclear projects, which are characterized by a high degree of technical complexity, a multi-stage approach and a lengthy implementation process. As a consequence, the existing legal solutions generate additional administrative barriers, which lead to drawing out the procedures, and increase the risk of delays at the investment stage. The introduced amendment is a response to these problems, aimed at better adaptation of the legal framework to the actual course and scale of nuclear investments, and improving the entire process of their preparation and implementation, while maintaining high safety standards. Importantly, new regulations apply to any investment facility, regardless its size; hence also covering potential endeavours regarding Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), since there is no separate legislation covering such installations. Further regulatory improvements are also planned in the form of another amendment to the proceedings before the President of the PAA, in particular regarding the possibility of submitting documentation in English.
Conclusion
The discussed amendment is an important step towards improving the process of preparation and implementation of investments in the field of nuclear energy facilities in Poland. The changes respond to the repeatedly signalled practical problems resulting from a failure to adapt existing regulations to the scale, complexity and long-term nature of such projects. All changes are aimed at reducing regulatory risks and shortening project implementation timeframes, while maintaining high safety standards. The newly adopted changes will not only accelerate the construction of the first Polish nuclear power plant at the Lubiatowo – Kopalino site but will also enable more efficient investment in the second power plant and in relation to SMR projects.
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