Utilities Middle East – August 2019

absence of fresh-water sources.
Compared with traditional nuclear reac-
tors, the advanced ones can off er reduced
construction time and costs, and a wider
variety of sizes and outputs for diff erent loca-
tions and applications.
“Besides emission-free electricity gener-
a t i o n , t h e y m a y h e l p i n d e s a l i n a t i o n o f s e a
water, which could provide a new source of
fresh water to areas in need,” Bernhard said.
“A general benefi t of nuclear energy is its
potential role in producing carbon-dioxide
emission-free electricity for a number of pur-
poses. For the foreseeable future, renewable

partly from advanced reactors.”

The economic case for countries to

i n v e s t i n c i v i l n u c l e a r r e a c t o r s a s p a r t o f a

mix of alternative energy sources is com-

pelling.

A case in point is Saudi Arabia. Among the

many goals of its Vision 2030 is a reduction

in dependency on oil revenues. To this end,

the 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

h e a d o f t h e U K A t o m i c E n e r g y A u t h o r i t y,

advanced nuclear reactors are modern,

s a fer, sma l ler, more conven ient a nd com-

pact. So, “if a country like Saudi Arabia is

starting a nuclear program, it might as well

start with the best new technology on the

market because that’s a great advantage,”

s h e t o l d A r a b N e w s. “ S a u d i A r a b i a s t a r t s w i t h

a clean slate and it’s a very fortunate position

to be in.”

With their nuclear-export strategy linked

to their geopolitical ambitions, Russia and

China have an advantage in the development

o f a d v a n c e d r e a c t o r s t h a n k s t o s t a t e fi nan-

cial backing.

These reactors will generally have various advan-

tages — they are smaller and more flexible than tradi-

tional reactors, which means inter alia that in many

countries, including Saudi Arabia, they can be deployed

in remote and arid areas.”

John Bernhard, Partnership for Global Security

IN NUMBERS

40% - Percentage of Saudi

Arabia’s electricity produced by

burning oil in 2016

9% - Percentage of electricity

used by Kingdom for desalina-

tion of sea water

9.5 giga wattes - Saudi

Arabia’s combined target in gi-

gawatts of solar and wind power

by 2023

40% - Percentage rise

expected in Saudi electricity de-

mand between 2019 and 2030

2x - Fuel burned by Saudi Elec-

tricity Company during summer

months as during the rest of the

year

energy sources like wind and sun will proba-

bly not be able to deliver the output needed,

such as in industrial development.”

Nuclear-energy experts say advanced

reactors off er interesting new possibilities,

especially for nuclear newcomers such as

Saudi Arabia.

“From a climate-change standpoint,

this may be a valuable contribution to the

achievement of the Paris Agreement goals

from some of the biggest oil-producing coun-

tries,” Bernhard said. “I would expect that

for various reasons, several Gulf states will

be interested in including nuclear energy,

http://www.utilities-me.com August 2019 / Utilities Middle East 11

NEWS ANALYSIS