Forget the fact that they've built and financed the kingdom on cheap oil -- the Saudis are looking into the future, and the future isn't carbon-based. It's alternative -- and being smart sorts, their alternative is nuclear. I think that they can sense that their population is going to need three main things: 1) energy, 2) water, and 3) food, and the main way to get 1) and 2) is to use what nuclear offers. Money is no object, so they can build now and get generating while in our country, Republican conservatives and especially know-little Republican conservative global warming skeptics sell us the pipe dream of cheap, polluting, climate-wrecking, non-sustainable, nearing peak, increasingly environmentally damaging oil and coal energy.
Saudi seen generating power from nuclear in 10 years
"Fast-growing power demand is forcing the world's largest oil exporter to look at all sources of energy. The kingdom will need 40 gigawatts (GW) of base load power by 2030, which could be met by nuclear plants, a government official said in October. "
It's a growth industry:
"Demand for electricity in the desert country is rising at an annual rate of 8 percent and is expected to triple to 121,000 megawatts by 2032."
U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce Francisco Sanchez sees opportunities for U.S. nuclear companies (let's hope so), but it's a competitive market, as France and Russia are already making nice noises to the Saudis.
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