Ready for Nuclear Energy? a Road to Peaceful Nuclear Power Generation Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Vision 2030

The global electricity demand, volatile fossil fuel prices, and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are pushing power producers towards green energy sources, including renewable energy and nuclear technologies. Civil nuclear power generation is seen as a reliable contestant in the green energy race, with 437 nuclear power plants operable in 32 countries worldwide. This paper discusses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) efforts to meet its growing electricity demand and reduce its dependency on fossil fuels through the introduction of nuclear energy into its national energy mix. KSA’s aims to achieve a renewable energy mix of 50% by 2030, including nuclear energy. The paper describes KSA's progress in developing its nuclear power infrastructure, including the establishment of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE) and the Saudi Nuclear Energy Holding Company (SNEHC). To achieve its goals, Saudi Arabia has followed the IAEA “Milestones Approach” and conducted the first Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) at KA-CARE headquarters in 2018, which showed that the country has made noteworthy progress in the development of its nuclear power infrastructure and is ready to invite bids or negotiate a contract for its first nuclear power plant. The paper emphasizes KSA's commitment to fulfilling international conventions and treaties related to nuclear power generation and its desire to achieve its VISION 2030 nuclear power generation targets.