27 Apr (NucNet): The US Nuclear Energy Institute led an industry delegation to Saudi Arabia this week aimed at clarifying Saudi nuclear energy development plans and identifying potential Saudi partners.
The NEI said the visit, in partnership with the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council and the US Departments of Commerce, Energy and State, provided an opportunity to deepen US industry relationships with officials in the kingdom and share US commercial opportunities.
The NEI said the US industry has “a strong interest” in partnerships with Saudi Arabia as it plans to begin an ambitious commercial nuclear energy programme.
To meet soaring electricity demand and diversify its electricity-generating mix away from fossil fuels, Saudi Arabia plans to develop two large nuclear power plants in the first phase of a multibillion-dollar programme that envisions up to 16 nuclear plants operating in the country.
Saudi Arabia is in the process of selecting finalists from five nations – the US, China, Russia, France and South Korea – that it invited to bid on a project to build the two plants. The selection of a winning bid and the signing of contracts are scheduled to take place by the end of 2018, the NEI said.
In a related development, the NEI said a group of 24 nuclear nonproliferation experts has sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging nuclear energy cooperation with Saudi Arabia. The letter recommends that Congress support a commercial nuclear trade agreement, known as a Section 123 agreement, with the kingdom that prevents the misuse of sensitive commercial nuclear energy technologies.
The letter also urges the US not to seek conditions that would ultimately cause the Saudis to reject such a cooperation agreement.
The Trump administration has been negotiating a Section 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia that would allow the kingdom to buy nuclear reactors from US companies.
Saudi Arabia has indicated it wants a deal without the usual “gold standard” of prohibitions on enrichment and reprocessing that are essential steps in producing nuclear weapons.
