06 February, 2007

To Go Nuclear or Not?

I think nuclear energy is right for the Gulf and particularly the UAE. It is being considered (Gulf News). Some reasons why it is right to go nuclear:
  • It takes time to develop such an industry, this is an opportune time to begin.
  • It requires a substantial investment, which the UAE can afford.
  • Although some would prefer that solar energy replace petrochemical, the science is just not there for the scale of energy resources the UAE will need.
  • The risks that nuclear energy production pose can be adequately dealt with if a carefully devised plan is executed. The UAE has time to do this if it starts now.
  • Despite having been shunned by many, nuclear energy has over the years proven to have a quiet record of success (in Japan, France, and even the USA), one major mishap (Chernobyl) notwithstanding.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't forget Three Mile Island and all the minor "mishaps" that happen all the time.

And the UAE would seem to be in a perfect position to build a sustainable, non-nuclear, energy industry.

Anonymous said...

Quite - the UAE is in a perfect position to harness clean, environmentally friendly energy sources. But it seems it just doesn't want to invest in this.

Lirun said...

you may think that this is rich coming from an israeli.. but i would love for our region to be nuclear free..

Keef said...

I used to be strongly opposed to nuke power, but now, with little or no truly viable alternatives, and (presumably) better engineering and management software/systems compared to 30 years ago, I think it's something that should be looked at again. Obviously it's a worry that the same technology can be used for highly-lethal weapons, which is what the Brits and the US did way back when.

It would be great if the authorities in the Middle East had poured money into research to improve conversion of sunlight into storable/transportable/usable energy, but they haven't up until now. So the region's greatest asset (abundant sunshine) goes to waste, oil and gas production has peaked (oops, it's a secret) and everyone is panicking...

Anonymous said...

ooohh am looking forward to an Emaar branded nuclear power station, which will inevitably get delayed and the roof shall leak.. hehe

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