Saudi, France sign peaceful nuclear cooperation pact Riyadh (AFP) Feb 22, 2011 OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia on Tuesday signed a cooperation agreement with France on peaceful nuclear energy development to help meet the kingdom's rising energy demand, an official statement said. The agreement will enable Saudi Arabia to compare available options for its long-term program to build alternative energy plants for electricity production and water desalination, said Hashim Yamani, president of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE). In a statement, KA-CARE said the pact, signed by Yamani and French Industry and Power Minister Eric Besson, "allows institutions in both countries to enhance cooperation in the fields of production, use, and transfer of knowledge of peaceful uses of nuclear energy." Yamani said Saudi Arabia had decided to turn to alternative energy resources, such as atomic and solar energy, to meet local demand for energy, which is rising by eight percent annually. Demand for electricity in Saudi Arabia is expected to triple by 2032, which will give rise to the need for energy plants with a total of 80 gws of installed capacity, the statement said. The Saudi cabinet in July gave the green light on the accord with France, which could open the way for French aid in the development of nuclear power in the oil-rich kingdom. The pact was first proposed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in talks with King Abdullah in June 2007 in Paris. France submitted the first draft when Sarkozy visited Riyadh in January 2008. Saudi Arabia is also studying similar pacts with a number of other countries including Russia.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Unrest delay Egypt's nuclear power plant tender Cairo (AFP) Feb 19, 2011 The instability in Egypt has delayed the tender for the country's first nuclear power plant, a state-owned newspaper reported on Saturday. "It has been decided to postpone the international tender for the construction ... of the first nuclear power plant in Al-Dabaa until the stabilisation of the situation in the country," Al-Ahram said. The tender process, due in January, has been delay ... read more |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |