Shehri, Governor of the Electricity and Co-Generation Regulatory Authority (ECRA), Tuesday outlined Saudi Arabia's road map in building its nuclear capabilities for peaceful means. Speaking here at the conclusion of the First Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), he revealed five key requirements for building a national nuclear program. “First, we need to secure international cooperation; second, come up with long term planning; third, study the required safety measures mandated by the international community; fourth, ensure we have the needed fuel supply; and fifth, we must prepare a national workforce that is educated in nuclear engineering and operation,” Al-Shehri said. These directions, he said, will be undertaken by the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE), the national agency established last year tasked with formulating nuclear development and application strategies. KA-CARE will be headquartered in the “Atomic City” now being built in Riyadh. “We are now weighing our options and deciding whether the Kingdom will do it alone or participate with others in the various nuclear program projects. We also need to secure uranium supply agreements,” Al-Shehri said. Al-Shehri said the nuclear road map will also require funding support for construction, maintenance of the facilities when already operational, safety procedures and decommissioning, and radioactive waste management. Dr. Maher A. Alodan, Consultant at KA-CARE, addressing the same conference, said the Kingdom's nuclear energy development plan is purely for innovative nuclear technology development. He said the nuclear energy plan will include medical and industrial application; nuclear fuel management research; safety, safeguard and security system analysis; radioactive waste management systems; radiation protection and modeling; and environmental monitoring and protection and human demographics. Delegates to the conference have concluded that nuclear power is a vital component in the Saudi energy mix. The immediate thrust, they said, is for Saudi Arabia to embark on photovoltaic and thermal solar energy development. __
