Saudi Nuclear

The Saudi minister of energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said that the kingdom continues to work on the construction of the first nuclear power plant, the minister added in his speech during the International Atomic Energy Agency Conference, in the Austrian capital Vienna, in September 2024, adding that we continue to implement our national project for peaceful nuclear energy, while our systems and infrastructure meet the internationally required control requirements.

The kingdom plans to use nuclear energy in civilian fields, as a way to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, despite possessing the second largest oil reserves in the world, and under the ambitious reform plan known as “Saudi Vision 2030” launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom aims to generate renewable energy, and it is expected that this will be done at least in part by obtaining nuclear energy.

The transition to nuclear energy is an important part of the economic transformation plan “Saudi Vision 2030”, which aims to diversify the economy and prepare it for the day when the world will become less dependent on oil and natural gas, especially that the kingdom is witnessing a growth in demand for electric energy at a rate of 9% annually since 2009, and also contribute to addressing the water scarcity suffered by the kingdom through the expansion of the use of this energy for desalination of salt water.

There is no doubt that Saudi Arabia’s main motivation for establishing a nuclear energy project is due to the fact that the kingdom has been suffering from low crude prices for years and is facing challenges with increasing energy demand.

With regard to the economic benefit, the construction of a nuclear power plant in the kingdom will put the group of twenty countries in a key position to win contracts for the construction of Saudi nuclear power plants, as international companies, especially Russia, China, France and other countries compete for this industry around the world.

He also pointed out that the peaceful use of nuclear energy is a clear path by the Kingdom, leading to a carbon-free future, besides switching to the concept of clean energy gradually, and making atomic energy part of the energy system in order to ensure that the kingdom remains a leader and effective in the field of energy within the targets of the kingdom’s Vision 2030.

The kingdom wants to use the recently discovered uranium reserves on its territory, which will enable it to export the majority of its oil, which is among the cheapest to produce in the world, and then finance its transition to a more diversified economy and less polluting the environment.

The kingdom’s interest in owning nuclear energy dates back to 2010, which witnessed the establishment of King Abdullah City for atomic and renewable energy by royal order, and the kingdom’s government announced in 2018 its desire to introduce peaceful atomic energy “within the national energy mix, and contribute to providing the requirements of sustainable national development stipulated by the kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030”.