UAE Plans to Construct a Second Nuclear Power Plant

ABU DHABI: According to a government official who spoke to Reuters, the United Arab Emirates is thinking of constructing a second nuclear power station to accommodate the rising demand for electricity in the oil-rich Gulf nation.

In an effort to draw in foreign investment and diversify its economy, the country of about 10 million people has come to support nuclear power, a low-carbon energy source. Commercial operations were initiated by its first plant in 2021.

Tens of billions of dollars would be involved in any deal for a new nuclear power building, and the US, China, and Russia might all submit bids.

Hamad Alkaabi stated that the government was considering building a second plant, given that the UAE’s only nuclear plant’s final reactor is scheduled to begin commercial operations this year.

“The government is looking at this option. No final decision has been made in terms of the tender process but I can tell you that the government is actively exploring this option,” he said.

According to government projections, population growth and an expanding industrial sector will be the main drivers of a significant increase in power consumption over the next decade.

Alkaabi stated it was possible a tender may be issued this year, but the government has not yet decided on the site or scale of a second power plant.

The UAE is planning a second nuclear power plant, and within a few months, it may put out bids to construct a four-reactor facility, according to sources who spoke with Reuters in April.

As the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the UN and Ambassador to Austria, Alkaabi said that any new power plant would likely consist of two or four reactors.

He stated that the build and technology of a new power plant would determine its size and adding that South Korea, the country that constructed the current building, would not be given preference when bidding on any project.

“It’s a policy decision to give opportunity for all potential bidders”, he said in an interview in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE nuclear regulator FANR has Alkaabi as its deputy chairman of the board of management.

A $20 billion contract to design, construct, and run four reactors in Abu Dhabi near the Saudi Arabian border was given to Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) by the UAE in 2009.

In a joint partnership with Emirates Nuclear Energy Company, the plant’s state owner, KEPCO manages the operation.

The Barakah power plant has a total combined capacity of 5600 megawatts, with each of its reactors having a capacity of 1400 megawatts.

Alkaabi said that the UAE has had discussions with important nuclear energy technology developers, but he did not provide their names.

The UAE and Washington signed a nuclear energy cooperation deal in 2009. The UAE and the US are close security partners.

It says that its nuclear program is peaceful and intended only to reduce its dependency on oil. It also purchases the fuel required for its reactors from the global market in order to prevent uranium enrichment. Nuclear bombs can be made using enriched uranium, the fuel used in nuclear power reactors.

Removing enrichment from nuclear programs reduces the possibility of developing weaponry.

The United Arab Emirates is located across the Gulf from Iran, which Tehran claims is in need of atomic power but which the United States accuses of attempting to create weapons through its nuclear program. Additionally, Saudi Arabia, which borders the UAE, is in discussions with the US about its aspirations to establish a civil nuclear power sector.

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