With the burgeoning demand of electricity in countries, nuclear newcomers like Saudi Arabia is advancing towards initiatives of bringing advance nuclear reactors in country. As put by Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, nuclear energy is “the right choice for the UAE because it is a safe, clean and proven technology, it’s commercially viable, and it delivers significant volumes of base-load electricity.”

Saudi Arabia’s growing electricity needs are currently met almost entirely by oil and natural gas. In 2016, for example, 40 percent of its electricity came from oil. The result is a loss of potential export revenue. These reactors will generally have various advantages — they are smaller and more flexible than traditional reactors and can be deployed in remote and arid areas.”
 
Saudi Arabia government has set ambitious goals for renewables, such as 9.5 gigawatts of solar and wind power by 2023.According to Lady Barbara Judge, former head of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, advanced nuclear reactors are modern, safer, smaller, more convenient and compact. So, “if a country like Saudi Arabia is starting a nuclear program, it might as well start with the best new technology in the market because that’s a great advantage,” she told Arab News.
 
It is true that nuclear energy is a one of the best sources of electricity generation compared to fossil fuels in terms of climate impact. Nuclear power plants emit negligible amount of carbon dioxide. Compared to renewables, nuclear energy’s seems to be good as it does not depend on the availability of sun or wind—which are intermittent—or water, which is constrained. Scale is another advantage; one power plant can produce enough electricity to light half of a country; in this sense it is less intrusive from an environmental point of view.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019