Nuclear is the key to a greener tomorrow

Head of World Nuclear Association says global energy demand will require 1,000 more reactors by the year 2050

ABU DHABI // The world will need more nuclear power plants as demand for electricity rises and greenhouse gas emissions threaten, the head of the World Nuclear Association said.

“Even with the best efforts of energy efficiency, we can expect electricity demand to continue to grow over the coming decades,” said Agneta Rising, who spoke at the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle conference in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

“But over the past two decades there has been a growing realisation that our use of fossil fuels, which has been so important to improve our lives, also threatens to irrevocably harm us. “Hundreds of thousands of people die each year because of the air pollution caused by fossil fuels, principally from burning coal for electricity generation and from the exhaust emissions from road transport.

“Climate change is also one of the threats of the future and it is not so far off.” From 2006 to 2007, the UAE had among the highest greenhouse gas emissions per capita in the world. But the level of harmful gases the UAE emits will fall once the Barakah nuclear power station comes online, Ms Rising said.

“It has gone down and it is not the highest any more,” she said. “When Barakah comes online it will definitely come down too, but science must reduce global greenhouse gas emissions over the next decades. “If you see what Abu Dhabi and the UAE is doing now with building nuclear and also having solar power, you can see a country that is going to deliver a lot to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions.”

Ms Rising said the International Atomic Energy Agency saw the possibility of electricity generation with no emissions by 2050. “A lot of new technologies have to come online and some existing technologies have to grow a lot,” she said. “Nuclear is one of those that are key to this scenario.

“Many of us visited the Barakah plant and the whole nuclear world is very proud of the progress of this project.”

But the nuclear energy sector has not grown as much as other energy sources, although electricity demand is on the rise.

In spite of the world at present experiencing its highest level of construction of nuclear reactors – 66 to date with China leading at 24 – more are needed for future projections.

“Nuclear energy has flattened out and it has not expanded as much as other energy sources have,” Ms Rising said. “There is a big task to reduce energy poverty.

“Nuclear is going to build the largest power tier, we know it is scalable and it can give long-lasting decarbonisation.”

By 2020, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation’s four nuclear energy units will provide up to a quarter of the country’s electricity needs and save up to 12 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

“It is clear that nuclear has a vital role to play in the future energy generation of the world in order to manage global carbon emission levels,” said Dr Mohammed Chookah, Enec’s executive director of nuclear fuel procurement.

“We heard about the need for the global nuclear industry to continue in its momentum for long-term sustainability, which reaffirms Enec’s important role in the UAE’s peaceful nuclear energy programme.”

Other sources of energy, such as renewables, are said to have less benefits.

“Even if you put a lot of money in them and have very skilled people to do it, it is not easy to do it fast,” Ms Rising said. “With nuclear, you don’t need a back-up, but we need 1,000 new reactors by 2050.”

Experts said the energy mix should be balanced.

“Every country has to look at their own national resources but nuclear has to be a part of it,” said Daniel Lipman, vice president suppliers and international programmes at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

“Countries should diversify to have a balanced energy supply. We are seeing early signs that state and policymakers are beginning to recognise simple facts to see a role for nuclear and that it should be valued, but we are not doing enough, fast enough to establish policies to preserve existing fleets.”