WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A project to develop small nuclear power reactors in Poland is moving forward, with a cooperation agreement between the Polish energy giant ORLEN and two U.S. government financial institutions signed Monday.

Poland is turning toward renewable and noncarbon energy, away from its past reliance on its own coal. Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has also accelerated Poland's drive to cut its dependence on Russian oil and gas.

In a ceremony at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Warsaw, the U.S. EXIM Bank signed a letter of interest in lending up to $3 billion and the U.S International Development Finance Corporation signed a letter of interest to lend up to $1 billion to the ORLEN Synthos Green Energy project for developing some 20 small modular reactors designed by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy.

U.S. Ambassador Mark Brzezinski stressed that Russia's aggression against Ukraine almost 14 months ago reinforced the need to turn toward safe and reliable energy sources.

At a later news conference, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland needed a “cheap, clean and reliable energy source” like the SMR reactors, which will produce emission-free energy and be a driving force for the economy for decades to come.