Saudi considers building first nuclear power plant
Minister of Water and Electricity, Abdullah bin Abdul-Rahman Al Husayen, told the Al Watan newspaper: “The kingdom is working on building a pilot plant fuelled by nuclear energy” to generate electricity.
In May FrenchÂ’s Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said Saudi Arabia and France were close to finalizing a civilian nuclear energy cooperation agreement. Power demand in the kingdom has surged due to rapid economic growth, and lack of infrastructure to meet its domestic requirements.
Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy, already faces costly power outages of up to five hours a day in the industrial zone of the commercial hub of Jeddah. Last month, Gulf countries took a step towards easing regional power shortages by linking up their electricity grids.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain signed a power trading agreement in July that could start seeing power flow across borders soon. Civilian nuclear power programs are also being explored by a number of Gulf oil exporting countries.
Related News
Why California's Climate Policies Are Causing Electricity Blackouts
SAN FRANCISCO - Millions of Californians were denied electrical power and thus air conditioning during a heatwave, raising the risk of heatstroke and death, particularly among the elderly and sick.
The blackouts come at a time when people, particularly the elderly, are forced to remain indoors due to Covid-19.
At first, the state’s electrical grid operator last night asked customers to voluntarily reduce electricity use. But after power reserves fell to dangerous levels it declared a “Stage 3 emergency” cutting off power to people across the state at 6:30 pm.
The immediate reason for the black-outs was the failure of a 500-megawatt power…
