NOWADAYS Saudi Arabia, among other Gulf states, is facing the challenge of creating an efficient and sustainable energy system. Kingdom has very ambitious plans to diversify its power generation sources and improve overall energy efficiency focusing on alternative sources of energy instead of burning oil and gas to provide needed electricity supply. In particular, The Kingdom announced the project which implementation assumes the install 50 GWe of renewable capacity by 2032 and construction of 16 nuclear power reactors with 17GWe nuclear capacity by 2040.
Obviously, Saudis have an increasing electricity demand due to growing of Kingdom’s population and rapid industrial development. Part of the country’s growth - GDP rose by more than 4% in 2014 - has come from the expansion of manufacturing activities. The Kingdom had more than 32 times as many factories in 2013 as in 1974, and its industrial spending over the same time period increased by 750%.
In this regard, Saudi Arabia should consider the ‘base load’ as the minimum amount of power needed by the grid to effectively run an economy. This term is frequently used worldwide discussing the energy needs. Industry cannot operate effectively, let alone grow, without a stable source of base load power. Base load is required 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to run heavy industry such as smelters, mills, hospitals and refineries. Blackouts in these heavy operations cause massive disruptions, damage equipment, put lives at extreme risk and ultimately cost the economy billions. Now it is established that base load is of great importance and must look at the criteria for base load power. Base load needs to be constant, reliable, predictable and economical. Therefore, generally base load requires the burning of fossil fuels, which the region is trying replace with alternative resources of energy. It’s well known worldwide that fossil fuels are very detrimental to the environment and to human health.
According to the latest report compiled by The World Bank, Saudi Arabia is on the third place among countries with the highest air pollution levels in the Middle East.
Definitely there is misconception among the general public that renewables are able to supply base load power. This is simply due to the fact that the output from renewable energy is linked directly with weather conditions.
Put simply, the sun does not shine 24 hours a day and the wind does not blow 365 days a year at a particular surface area to generate continuous power. This makes the technology rather unpredictable and is referred to as intermittent power. Moreover important to mention, that according to International Energy Agency solar power systems present challenges in hot dusty conditions: dust impairs operations, and efficiency falls at temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius. A number of research establishments in the Gulf region are working on ways to tackle these problems. Therefore when considering the costs of renewable energy sources, back-up generators need to be factored into the price.
Following facts above it becomes clear that nuclear power plants are the best source to supply base load power and to provide energy security. So what is needed – an optimal mix of nuclear energy as main source of base load power and renewables as a complimenting source to satisfy the Kingdom’s demand for sustainable and diverse alternative energy matrix.
The Kingdom has already made significant steps in the direction of nuclear energy development. King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) was established in 2010 and during last five years several agreements on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful uses has been concluded with many countries, including European, Asian and others. Most recently, during the visit of president Xi Jinping China and Saudi Arabia have signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. Furthermore, a meeting between K.A.CARE and Russian State Nuclear Corporation ROSATOM took place in Riyadh in the middle of last December. The two sides discussed ways and means to further joint cooperation in the field of atomic energy within the framework of intergovernmental agreement for cooperation in this area signed between Saudis and Russians in June 2015.
In addition, worth noting that the use of nuclear technology in power has the added advantage, especially for Saudi Arabia – water desalination. Desalination is more common in Saudi Arabia than in any other country in the Gulf region and even more important, that 70% of the fresh water used by Kingdom’s cities is obtained through desalination. Actually it is the country’s only option: there are no permanent bodies of water in the country’s interior and very little rain.
* The writer is Editor in Chief of independent information site ‘Atominfo.ru’
