UAE will go nuclear while exporting oil

The United Arab Emirates is pursuing nuclear-generated power to meet growing electricity demands that cannot be supported by fossil fuels, a senior government official said Monday.

Ambassador Hamad Ali Al Ka'abi, UAE Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the UAE will export oil and natural gas abroad but depend to a much larger extent on atomic power domestically.

Study projections by the UAE government suggest that UAE electricity demand will triple to 41,000 megawatts by 2020, a 160 per cent hike from the 18,000 megawatts of capacity the country now enjoys.

“The natural gas available to the power sector will not be sufficient,'' Al Ka'abi told delegates at the Nuclear Energy in the Gulf energy conference hosted by the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research.

The conference ends on Wednesday.

Other alternative fuels such as solar and wind “can only cover a small portion of demand'', he said, making nuclear more attractive as the UAE grows in years to come.
Noting that nuclear is something that the UAE cannot ignore, he said atomic power is now on the drawing board because it is “commercially competitive and environmentally friendly''.

Within the next 12 years, three new nuclear plants may be built at a cost of $7 billion each and individually produce up to 1,500 megawatts of power yearly. The plants may be constructed along the Gulf between Abu Dhabi and Fujairah.

Nuclear plant technology today is far safer, secure and efficient than past models which led to meltdown incidents such as America's Three Mile Island and the former Soviet Union's Chernobyl.

A new plant to be constructed in the UAE will be safe, secure and sustainable, Al Ka'abi said.

Nuclear generation will be pursued through Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, a new transparent body that will bound by nuclear laws and regulations drawn up from the best international practices, he said.

Former United Nations weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix agreed that nuclear power is safer than it was before noting that in new models, meltdowns cannot happen given a safer and simpler design.

A keynote speaker, Blix said he understands concerns about allowing some countries to build nuclear reactors because of fears that spent uranium could be enriched for weapons of mass destruction.

He said: “I don't think they should seek a ban on nuclear enrichment. It won't work.''

Rather, he suggested that countries that have nuclear weapons should negotiate toward nuclear disarmament despite a documented failure to do so since signing the 1968 non-proliferation agreement.

In an age where fossil fuels have led to a global crisis of greenhouse gases, more countries are seeking balance through nuclear plants, he said.

The push by some for more economical energy production that reduces greenhouse gases is leading to a “nuclear revival'' where counties such as China, India and America are looking at building atomic plants by the dozens.

The United States, alone, has 22 plants up for approval.

The potential to cut emissions in the atmosphere is due to uranium's unparalleled gravitas as a fuel source, Blix said.
One kilogramme of firewood, for example, generates one kilowatt of energy and one kilogram of oil can generate four kilowatts of electricity.

“One kilogramme of uranium can give you 50,000 kilowatts of energy,'' Blix said.

And while capital costs still run into the mega millions of dollars for a new nuclear plant, the good news is that the life span of a plant has increased from 25 years to 60 years, increasing the return on investment.