28.10.2019 10:13:00
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions that release nuclear
energy to generate heat, which is used in steam turbines to produce electricity in
a nuclear power plant. Egypt for the first time has planned to use nuclear power.
El Dabaa nuclear power plant, which will be Egypt’s first
nuclear power plant, is planned to be built in Matrouh Governorate on the
Mediterranean coast. Construction on the plant is expected to start in 2020, with
commissioning expected to begin in 2026. The Government of Egypt signed
two contracts with the Russian Government for the construction and of the El
Dabaa NPP in November 2015. Russia will fund Egypt 85% of the construction
cost of the El Dabaa nuclear power project. Russia will provide a $25 billion
loan, under a financial agreement signed between the Ministry of Finance of
Egypt and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The loan will be
replayed over a period of 22 years at an interest rate of 3% a year.
In November 2015, an intergovernmental agreement was signed
with Russia to build and operate the four reactors: fuel, supply, used fuel,
training and development of regulatory infrastructure. The government also
ordered preparations for construction of the units to begin in 2016. In April
2019, NPPA received a site approval permit for the El Dabba from the Egyptian
Nuclear Regulation and Radiological Authority (ENRRA). The contractual
scope also includes the supply of nuclear fuel over the plant’s entire operational
life, assistance for the operation, and maintenance of the plant for the initial ten
years of operation. ROSATOM will also build storage and supply container for
storing spent fuel.
“There are many risks to the use of nuclear technologies,” said
Egyptian lawmaker Ahmed al-Tantawi. “The government needs to reconsider
the project, especially if it only wants to use it in the generation of electrical
power, of which we have surpluses already.” The Russian government has not
clarified the circumstances of August 8 explosion that killed five research
workers. The blast is believed to have been caused by a nuclear-powered test
gone wrong. The construction of the plant is to start next year in El Dabaa, a
coastal region in north-western Egypt. The plant is to include four nuclear
reactors, each with the capacity to generate 1,200 megawatts of power.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s administration signed
an agreement for the use of Russian nuclear technology in 2015 and signed a
contract for the construction of the power plant in ElDabaa in December 2017.
“The construction of the plant makes it necessary for us to abide by the highest
safety standards,” Tantawi said.
"A year after the operation of its first phase in 2026, the plant
would contribute 10% of all electricity in Egypt. By 2050, it would provide
30% of the country’s electricity. Egypt’s annual electricity generation has
reached 58,000 megawatts, which is more than the country’s currently needs
after spending tens of billions of dollars on new electricity plants and starting
the use of renewable energy. However, Egypt’s rapidly growing population will
need more electricity in the future. A nuclear power programme also should
help Cairo diversity its energy sources."
"The nuclear power plant is important for the localisation of
nuclear technologies. It is a move that would serve the industrial sector and
nuclear-based scientific research," specialists said. “This project is extremely
important for the future of energy in Egypt,” said Ali Abdel Nabi, a former
vice-chairman of the NPPA. “Nuclear energy will provide us with clean and
also safe energy.”
Nuclear energy in Malaysia, according to the change of
government in Malaysian administration, the new government decided to cancel
the plan for the construction of nuclear power plants to generate electricity as
"science itself were still unable to find proper ways to dispose nuclear waste".
Nuclear energy in Greece, the government believes that due to the
country’s small size and frequent earthquakes in the region with Italy, and
Turkey, nuclear power would not provide many benefits.
Nuclear energy in Italy, the construction of nuclear energy has
started in the early 1960s, but all plants were closed by 1990 following the
Italian nuclear power referendum. However, following the 2011 Japanese
nuclear accidents, the Italian government put a one-year moratorium on plans to
revive nuclear power.
Nuclear energy in germany, In September 2011, German engineers
announced it will withdraw entirely from the nuclear industry, as a response to
the nuclear disaster in Japan, and said that they would no longer build nuclear
power plants anywhere in the world.
Nuclear energy in spain, the government decided to shut down the
country's oldest nuclear plant. The government says it's closing the country's
oldest nuclear power station because of lack of support among political parties
and companies involved to keep it open.
Nuclear energy in Switzerland, In 2011, the federal authorities
decided to phase out nuclear power in Switzerland as a consequence of the
Fukushima accident in Japan. “In late 2013 the operator BKW decided to cease
all electrical generation in 2019 in the Mühleberg plant, which has a similar
design to Fukushima.”
Nuclear power plants’ advantage is that it does not use large amounts of
fossil fuels. Coal and natural gas power plants release much more carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. With nuclear
power plants, carbon dioxide releases are minimal.
References
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Egypt under pressure to rethink plans for nuclear power plant | Hassan Abdel Zaher | AW.
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https://thearabweekly.com/egypt-under-pressure-rethink-plans-nuclear-power-plant
2.
El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant, Egypt’s first nuclear power plant. (n.d.). [Blog post].
Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.power-technology.com/projects/eldabaa-nuclear-power-plant/
3.
Nuclear Energy in Egypt: Egyptian Nuclear Electricity - World Nuclear Association. (n.d.).
[Blog post]. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.worldnuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-a-f/egypt.aspx
4.
power generated from sustained nuclear fission. (2019, October 1). [Blog post]. Retrieved
October 27, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power
Other…
1.
Application/Conclusion - Nuclear Power Plants. (n.d.). [Blog post]. Retrieved
October 28, 2019, from
https://sites.google.com/site/rhschem8mmason/controversy/applicationconclusion