Energy experts to meet on KSA’s nuclear future

More than 200 Saudi and Korean nuclear energy organizations and entities will meet at a promotional presentation about the value of nuclear energy and equipment supply at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh on Monday and Tuesday.
King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) will be attending the presentation, organized by the Korean Electrical Energy Company (KEPCO) in cooperation with the Korean Establishment for International Nuclear Cooperation. The event is to be held under the auspices of the Korean Ministry for Trade, Industry and Energy.
Senior officials from KACARE and energy industry directors and executives from both sides will be present, as well as Howan-Ik Shau, executive director of KEPCO, Korean embassy officials, public companies and organizations and 13 Korean suppliers, including Doosan, a manufacturer for heavy construction equipment.
A previous presentation was held at the Korean capital Seoul in June last year. KACARE then introduced its nuclear development program and a road map to develop a nuclear industry in the Kingdom.
Korea introduced plans for cooperation with Riyadh in the field of nuclear energy and in providing nuclear equipment thanks to Korea’s superior nuclear capabilities and expertise.
The Kingdom’s government is promoting an ambitious energy program that aims to reduce dependence on petrol in producing electrical energy and decrease carbon emissions in the atmosphere.
The Saudi nuclear plan aims to replace 50 percent of the dependence on traditional fossil fuel with atomic and renewed energy by 2032.
Through the establishment of nuclear plants and the recruitment of international nuclear experts, the Kingdom’s government expects that it will be able to develop its energy-industry infrastructure and create more jobs by nationalizing the field of nuclear energy.
According to the Saudi energy plan, the Kingdom will begin commercial operation on the first Saudi nuclear plant in 2022 and build more plants with a productive capacity of 17,600 megawatts by 2032. To achieve this, the Kingdom will put this project up for international tender at the beginning of 2014.