UAE mulls building a second nuclear power plant

The UAE is considering building a second nuclear power plant to meet growing demand for electricity in the oil-rich Gulf state, a government official told Reuters.

As the final reactor of the UAE’s only nuclear plant is set to start commercial operations this year, Hamad Alkaabi, who is the UAE’s Ambassador to Austria and the Permanent Representative to the UN’s nuclear agency. said the government was evaluating whether to build a second plant.

“The government is looking at this option. No final decision has been made in terms of the tender process but I can tell you that the government is actively exploring this option,” he stated.

The country of some 10 million people has become a proponent of nuclear power, a low-carbon energy source, as it seeks to diversify its economy and attract foreign investment. Its first plant started commercial operations in 2021.

The government has yet to budget for a second power plant or decide on the size or the location, but Alkaabi said it was possible a tender could be issued this year.

Sources told Reuters in April that the UAE planned a second nuclear power plant and that it could seek bids to build a four-reactor facility within a few months.

Any new power plant would likely consist of two or four reactors, he added.