KSA, China sign nuclear energy cooperation deal

The King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese National Nuclear Energy Company (CNNC) in Shanghai on Thursday on cooperation mechanisms for the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Waleed Husain Abu Al-Faraj, vice president of K.A.CARE, and Hwan Min Gang, chief financial officer of the CNNC, signed the MoU.
The signing ceremony was attended by several K.A.CARE and Chinese officials, including Hashem Yamani, K.A.CARE president, and Wushin Ochi Shiong, minister of State Administration of Energy.
Yamani was welcomed by several Chinese officials and members of the Saudi Embassy in Shanghai at the Shanghai airport.
Yamani also met with Wen Jiabao, minister of the National Energy Commission, and several officials in Shanghai to discuss areas of mutual cooperation in the atomic and renewable energy fields between the two countries.
K.A.CARE was established through a royal decree issued by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on April 17, 2010, with the fundamental aim of building a sustainable future by developing substantial alternative energy thanks to an ever-increasing pressure on the country’s nonrenewable hydrocarbon resources.
As a result, alternative, sustainable and reliable sources of energy for generating power and producing desalinated water were introduced in a bid to reduce consumption of the nation’s fossil fuel reserves.
A balanced energy mix of alternative and conventional energy is strategically important for Saudi Arabia’s long-term prosperity, energy security and its leading position in the global energy market, experts said.
Atomic and renewable energy will account for a significant portion of Saudi Arabia’s future energy mix.
The two sectors will provide substantial capacity, advanced technology, efficient use of resources and will be fully compliant with international standards,
conventions and treaties, enabling the Kingdom to plan for increased demand for power and desalinated water, while ensuring the rate of national development continues apace.
According to government estimates, anticipated demand for electricity in the Kingdom is expected to exceed 120GW in 2032.
Unless alternative energy and energy conservation measures are implemented, the overall demand for fossil fuel for power, industry, transportation and desalination is estimated to grow from 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2010 to 8.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2028.