JEDDAH: Dr. Hashem bin Abdullah Yamani, president of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE), has praised the decision by the Council of Ministers at its last meeting to approve the establishment of the National Atomic Energy Project in the Kingdom.
The approval was based on a submission by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Dr. Yamani said that the approval of the Cabinet would enable the Kingdom to make national gains in peaceful uses of atomic energy.
These include the promotion of electric power sources, sea water desalination and others, in order to reach the optimum energy mix for
the Kingdom which takes into account the peaceful objectives and goals of the program. Those objectives and goals are within the Kingdom's
commitment to relevant multilateral and bilateral international treaties and agreements and the guidance provided by the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for states newly implementing such programs.
He pointed out that the national project for atomic energy consists of several main components, such as large nuclear reactors which are reactors with an electrical capacity estimated between 1200MW and 1600MW of power per one reactor. The reactors contribute to supporting the basic load in the electrical grid throughout the year.
Dr. Yamani noted that KACARE was conducting a technical study to build two large atomic reactors and small integrated nuclear reactors. These
reactors will enable the Kingdom to acquire and develop atomic energy technologies and build them from the electrical grid in isolated areas.
Dr. Yamani added that the project took into account international safety standards according to the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Authority; the project will be an organizational regulatory body aimed at maintaining nuclear and radiation safety for individuals, the environment and nuclear facilities according to the best international
practices.