Small Modular Reactors: Sołowow, ZE PAK Plan 1.8 GW at Pątnów

A second attempt at the same site

Poland's two richest business families are trying again. On 13 October 2026, Michał Sołowow's SGE signed an agreement with ZE PAK, the power company controlled by the Solorz family. The deal sets out how the two sides will work together to build and run small modular reactors. Bloomberg describes it as their second attempt at a joint nuclear project, coming as Poland replaces its ageing power plants.1 Business Insider Polska and Wirtualnemedia, both working from ZE PAK's stock-exchange filing, add the main figures: six GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 units with a combined 1,800 MW, to be built by a special-purpose company at Pątnów, where ZE PAK now burns lignite.910

The first attempt was announced in September 2021. At the time, Zygmunt Solorz and Sołowow presented a plan for four to six 300 MW reactors on the same Pątnów land. They pointed to the transmission lines already running from the coal plant as a reason the project could succeed.45 It went nowhere. Coverage of the new deal says ZE PAK turned instead to large-scale nuclear with the Polish state and South Korean partners.29 What has changed is who runs ZE PAK. Polish reports describe Piotr Żak, who took over the family business in a succession, as the person reviving the idea. Bloomberg simply calls the counterparty "the Solorz family".210

The deal terms

The filing sets out a clear split of roles. SGE brings the rights to the BWRX-300 design for Pątnów, and ZE PAK brings the land.9 SGE has an exclusive right from GE Vernova Hitachi to promote and deploy the BWRX-300 at Pątnów and within 10 km of it, and those rights will move into the joint company.10 SGE will own most of the joint company and will be the managing partner, with the right to fill most seats on its governing bodies.110

Once coal operations end, ZE PAK will prepare the site at its own cost. It will contribute part of the land as an in-kind stake and sell the rest to the joint company for 300 million zloty net. That price can fall by up to 50 million zloty depending on what site preparation actually costs. Payments run from 2028 to 2030, when the land is due to change hands.210 ZE PAK also has a way out: if the nuclear project fails or is badly delayed, it can buy the land back at the sale price, adjusted for the time value of money. Antitrust approval is still needed before the joint company can be set up.10

That buy-back clause says a lot. The Solorz side gets a buyer for an old coal site without giving up the land for good if the reactors are never built. In practice, ZE PAK is protecting itself while Sołowow carries most of the execution risk.

Why this site, and why the grid matters

The best argument for Pątnów is its grid connection, not the reactor design. Sołowow called it one of Poland's most critical power locations. He said that without a stable replacement source, closing the lignite plant, which he called inevitable, could disrupt the grid.10 Business Insider Polska frames the project the same way: turning a coal site into a modern power source keeps Pątnów important to the national system.9 The 2021 announcement made the same point about existing transmission infrastructure.5

Since then, demand forecasts have risen sharply, mostly because of data centres. Grid operator PSE's 2027–2036 development plan assumes Polish data centres could use 17.4 TWh of electricity in 2036 and 29.4 TWh in 2040. The Polish Economic Institute estimates that would be roughly 7% and 11% of national demand.22 PSE expects data-centre demand to pass 3 GW by 2036 and reach about 5 GW by 2040. It plans 4,960 km of new 400 kV lines and 68.2 billion zloty of spending to support that growth.22 One industry account says PSE has received 150 GW of data-centre connection requests. The same account calls that figure speculative, but it shows how many developers want in.25

Estimates of current capacity vary widely, and readers should treat any single number with care. One real-estate analysis puts operating capacity at about 173 MW, rising to around 500 MW by 2030 and 1,200 MW by 2034.21 Another source cites about 220 MW, PSE-linked reporting says less than 250 MW, and a market-research firm measuring installed IT load puts it at roughly 660–700 MW.252229 The gaps probably come down to different definitions. All of these sources agree on the direction: steep growth, held back by the grid more than by customer demand. Warsaw faces an estimated grid deficit of 150–200 MW, and medium-voltage connections can take about 18 months.2130

Six reactors totalling 1,800 MW are therefore a big number set against that projected load. My reading is that Pątnów is not really a data-centre project, and no source describes it as one. It is a firm, low-carbon supply in a spot where the grid already expects large generation, and that becomes more valuable as computing loads arrive. Sołowow's wider strategy suggests the link is intentional. His £35 billion UK plan for 14 BWRX-300s includes Google Cloud among its partners, alongside GE Vernova Hitachi and Samsung C&T.15 A Polish data-centre industry association even runs a working group on connecting SMRs to data centres.25

The Orlen problem

Pątnów also matters because it sits outside Sołowow's troubled partnership with the state. His joint venture with Orlen, OSGE, holds exclusive rights to build small reactors in Poland, but the Pątnów project is specifically excluded.29 Coverage describes relations between Sołowow and Orlen as strained, with the terms of their cooperation being renegotiated.2 In early October, Notes from Poland reported that shareholder disagreements had delayed OSGE's plans. Sołowow said a deal reached in September would let two reactors go ahead, but he said he regretted the partnership and complained that Orlen's involvement had made the project political.7

OSGE's own plans remain large. It has government decisions in principle for 26 reactors totalling about 7,800 MW.9 In June it asked the energy minister for a contract for difference covering 14 BWRX-300s at Włocławek, Stawy Monowskie and Stalowa Wola, with the first unit due in Włocławek in 2032.14 Earlier in the year the site list was different: Nuclear Engineering International named Ostrołęka rather than Stalowa Wola, and described a plan for up to 24 reactors.12 Those changes show a programme still being reshaped, not a fixed construction schedule.

The state is still involved. In February the government attended the signing in Washington of a generic Polish BWRX-300 design agreement. Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka said SMRs would provide critical baseload power for energy-intensive industry as electricity demand keeps rising.1113 Even Sołowow, who argues that private ownership shortens build times, has said success depends on government support: contracts for difference, permitting, and a regulator ready to act.7

Money, momentum, and an unproven reactor

SGE has recently raised money. In late September a group of Polish entrepreneurs, including InPost founder Rafał Brzoska, committed 500 million zloty. Together with 1.35 billion zloty from foreign investors, that funds the company for about two years.7 Meanwhile, the Solorz family is trying to buy out ZE PAK's minority shareholders and take the company off the Warsaw exchange. It cites its advanced move away from lignite, and the family already owns 65.96% through a Cypriot holding company.29 Taking the company private before a long, expensive nuclear venture would spare the Solorz family from reporting to minority investors through years of uncertainty.

The reactor itself has not yet been proven. No BWRX-300 has been finished anywhere. The first unit is under construction at Ontario Power Generation's Darlington site in Canada, with completion expected around the end of the decade. Notes from Poland reports 2029 for completion and 2030 for commercial operation.1115 Arthur D. Little points out that only two SMRs operate worldwide, one in China and one in Russia, and calls the technology early-stage.23 The Pątnów land will not even pass to the joint company until 2030.10

The verdict

This deal looks more solid than the 2021 announcement. Back then the two sides published statements of intent. This time there is a filed agreement with a land price, a payment schedule, clear control rights and a buy-back clause.510 It also gives Sołowow a Polish project outside Orlen's control, which matters more after a year of public dispute.7

Still, the 1,800 MW should be treated as an option on Poland's future power needs, not a date for new supply. Rising demand from data centres and electrification, along with coal closures, is real and showing up in PSE's grid planning.22 Pątnów's strongest asset is its existing grid connection, and that is likely to grow in value however the reactor plans turn out. Whether six reactors actually get built depends on Darlington being delivered, a state support contract, and Poland's nuclear regulator. None of those is settled yet.