Going nuclear in the GCC countries: Rationale, challenges, and politics

Abstract

In the past few years, the GCC countries have treated this issue of alternative sources of power with some urgency and have created various programs to address this issue. Since 2006, some of the GCC countries began to focus on the potential of nuclear energy as a viable solution (World Nuclear Association 2011a). The peaceful usage of nuclear energy is being promoted by the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC 2011a) as an extremely beneficial source of power for the UAE region. The significant benefits include provision for climate change and progression toward a knowledge-based economy and self-sustainability. Nuclear power is an extremely clean and uninterrupted source of power. However, the process of obtaining nuclear fuel and its misuse remains a large concern for other countries of the world (EPA 2010).