| Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil producer, producing about 13 % of the total globe oil production. Meanwhile, its domestic consumption of oil has also been drastically increasing over the past few years. This increase is due to the high growth of the population and the development of the country's economy. If nothing changes, their consumption of fossil fuels will double in the next 10 years. Saudi Arabia has no choice but to invest in alternative energy sources, such as renewables and nuclear energy, to meet its high demand. Saudi government has announced a plan to construct 16 nuclear reactors by 2040 with a total capacity of 17 GW. Nuclear energy can serve as a clean and reliable base-load energy source. Additionally, it can be very safe provided that all safety precautions are met. However, there are also enormous risks. These precautions and risks will be thoroughly addressed in this thesis. |
