Saudis Announce Plan to Build 1st Nuclear Reactor

Energy officials in Saudi Arabia announced Tuesday that they are embarking on a plan to build a nuclear reactor “for peaceful purposes,” Israel’s NRG News reported, quoting the London-based “Al-Hayat” Arabic-language daily.

Senior sources in the Muslim kingdom told the newspaper that construction of the reactor is expected to begin before the end of the calendar year.

“Construction of the first Saudi nuclear reactor will take ten years, according to the plan, although we hope that we can complete the task in less time,” the newspaper said, quoting Saudi sources.
The kingdom’s ultimate goal, the report stated, is to establish four nuclear reactors throughout the country.

Meanwhile, nuclear industry monitor, the World Nuclear Association (WNA) said, in a report released in May, that the kingdom’s goal is, in fact, 16 nuclear power reactors, “to be built over the next 20 years at a cost of more than $80 billion, with the first reactor on line in 2022.”

The Saudis hope to reach “17 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2032,” which would supply 15 percent of their projected needs by then.

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