CHAPTER 10
Powering the Middle East and North Africa
with Nuclear Energy: Stakeholders
and Technopolitics
Li-Chen Sim
Introduction
Between 2000 and 2017, the consumption of electricity in the Middle
East and Africa grew from 786 terra-watt hours (TWh) to 1700 TWh.
This 116% increase was the largest rise in the world after the Asia-Pacific
region (184%) and far ahead of that recorded by third-placed South and
Central America at 29%. 1 Electricity demand in the Middle East and
North Africa (MENA) is expected to continue, albeit at a more moderate
pace of over 3% per annum down from 5.6% between 2007 and 2017. 2
To meet this demand, over $500 billion worth of power projects were
ongoing/planned in 2019, with the focus on gas and renewable energy. 3
L.-C. Sim (B)
Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates
e-mail: li-chen.sim@ku.ac.ae
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
R. Mills and L.-C. Sim (eds.), Low Carbon Energy in the Middle East
and North Africa, International Political Economy Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59554-8_10
263
Powering the Middle East and North Africa
with Nuclear Energy: Stakeholders
and Technopolitics
Li-Chen Sim
Introduction
Between 2000 and 2017, the consumption of electricity in the Middle
East and Africa grew from 786 terra-watt hours (TWh) to 1700 TWh.
This 116% increase was the largest rise in the world after the Asia-Pacific
region (184%) and far ahead of that recorded by third-placed South and
Central America at 29%. 1 Electricity demand in the Middle East and
North Africa (MENA) is expected to continue, albeit at a more moderate
pace of over 3% per annum down from 5.6% between 2007 and 2017. 2
To meet this demand, over $500 billion worth of power projects were
ongoing/planned in 2019, with the focus on gas and renewable energy. 3
L.-C. Sim (B)
Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates
e-mail: li-chen.sim@ku.ac.ae
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
R. Mills and L.-C. Sim (eds.), Low Carbon Energy in the Middle East
and North Africa, International Political Economy Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59554-8_10
263