Nuclear secures its place as a reliable source of energy

The ability of nuclear energy to provide low-carbon electricity, hydrogen, and high-grade heat makes it a versatile source that can contribute significantly to decarbonising heavy-emitting sectors and helping achieve global climate goals. In an action section titled Nuclear energy as a lower carbon energy source, experts discussed the upside of nuclear energy and discussed the role of nuclear within the UAE’s energy mix.

“We have four units safely in operation mode, covering 25% of the country's demand, supplying 40 terawatt hours to the grid…At the same time, those four plants represent the nation avoiding 22.4 million tons of CO2. Let me repeat the number…22.4 million tonnes of CO2 avoided. This is the equivalent of taking 4.8 million cars off the road. So, it's a major decarbonisation effort,” said Mohamed Al Braiki, CEO, ENEC Consulting & VP of Strategy, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation.

According to Rene Matthies, CFO and Corporate Operations Executive Director, Emirates Water and Electricity Co., his company aims to do what’s best with respect to establishing an energy mix for the UAE.

“We approach this in a very neutral way - what benefits does nuclear bring? There's no profit interest. So, why is nuclear in the mix? I think it's twofold. Firstly, diversification is very important. Secondly, it's the most complex assets mankind has developed and been able to manage. You know, these assets should make the company or the country profitable, but also it creates a lot of additional opportunities in terms of providing services to international customers,” he said.

Al Braiki agrees. He said: “Another benefit that I think nuclear brings is when you put a nuclear programme in a nation, like, for example, the one that we did in Abu Dhabi, about US$6.7 billion went into the local economy.”

Having the backing and support of the government, financial sector and a variety of stakeholders helped the UAE to become the fastest country, globally, adding clean power per capita. Al Braiki cites COP28 as a prime example of how collaboration yielded support for nuclear.

“COP28 was held in Dubai, and we had 25 countries sign the pledge to triple nuclear capacity throughout the world. And what happened after that? More than 150 nuclear companies came together to sign another pledge to step it up and triple the nuclear capacity of the world,” he said.