Two years back I posted about the possibility of Kuwait building nuclear plants, well it looks like they’re going to be building four! I just hope they don’t put the guy in charge of the sewage treatment plants to handle the nuclear power plants. [Link]
53 replies on “Kuwait will build four nuclear reactors”
nice choice for the pic….
now if only ppl like homer don’t end up working there…
It is going to be built by Japan and the expected date of completion is 2022.
My suggestion is import the Japanese workers to run the plant and hire Blackwater for security!
Even just 1 is way more than enough for Kuwait. Looks like they’re trying to make Kuwait a central hub of electricity for the whole middle east. It would certainly be profitable to do so!
Bakkeeeeeeeeeeer !
imagine if those were built 20 years ago, Kuwait would have an annual budget surplus at least the double, just simply export those burnt to evaporate crude oil -Kuwait used to generate energy-..into barrels..
and it would cost a portion of a 1 year budget surplus..
its fucking painful..
Is Kuwait willing to pay the Japanese the appropriate salaries? Or will they just cheap out and call in expats willing to work for less?
Unless it’s run by foreign experts (Personally!), I smell Chernobyl.
economically …makes sense, bearing in mind the cost of crude we are burning … but enviormentaly / techincaly … its tough. i believe kuwait should push for being part of GCC nuclear pact(saudi to build the reactors as a location and we can share the power from them ) 🙂
Nuclear Powerplants are actually very safe.
Unlike Mishref,we won’t survive if something major goes wrong.
what concerns me about the idea of putting 4 nuke plants in the area is how we will maintain them, can you imagine what a nuke plant will do to the region if not maintained at all let alone the qualified personnel to run them ????
Let the ministry of electricity first sort out their ability to run their operations correctly then think about putting something of that scale.
Wow. We are screwed. You know someone somewhere is gonna not do their job properly eventually leading to nuclear leaks and everyone in Kuwait and nearby is fucked.
kuwait should build some solar power plants. that would definately be an investigation for the future. and much more safe.
investement of course 🙂
I pray god they cancel their plans
Man we couldn’t handle sewers ,as u said
Hopefully it’s just day dreams
If the ministry of electricity with MPW joined hands and installed solar panels on all the ministry buildings and gov establishments that alone will limit the power issues we have, and then work on partially installing the same on government built houses …. the future would be bright then ???
I hope they put Homer Simpson in charge.
Before people judge, they should at least be informed. There has only been two nuclear reactor accidents, Chernobyl was the only devastating one, the other was contained without anyone getting hurt or sick. Two disasters in the decades Nuclear Power has been around, that’s amazing.
And Nuclear Power is actually a lot cleaner than fossil fuel.
Nuclear Power No thanks,as the old CND motto used to go ( re weapons).
@Patrick: Yes, but we also must not forget the maintenance. Radioactive waste, if not disposed properly, can cause harmful radiations, further causing skin cancer, and excessive genetic mutations.
It’s not sweet at all, and frankly, I don’t think Kuwait is ready for it.
I suggest they use solar power – the initial cost is high, but no exhaustable fuel, near-zero maintenance, and the notorious Kuwait heat suggest that’s a MUCH better alternative.
Actually, it won’t be run by Kuwaitis, but by an international team – at least for a short while. They’ve assembled a team of experts to prepare the project. I mean come on – you don’t think these guys have thought through all the possible dangers?
Some people should inform themselves before telling people to do so. There were more than just “two” accidents:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_civilian_nuclear_accidents
And you can verify those incidents yourself using other sources if you’re one of those people who have the “I don’t trust Wikipedia!” syndrome.
Even though most of them were minor, they were still accidents that occurred in countries that have years of experience in this field. That’s why a lot of people insist on having the Japanese themselves run the show.
There’s already a neighbor with a crazy government who’s intentions are misleading about their nuclear program, and you know whom I’m referring to.
Thumbs Up if you want Homer to become the Nuclear Safety Inspector
(Y) LOL
Would be cool if in one of the episodes of Simpsons, Homer gets sent to Kuwait to work in our Nuclear plant. Someone needs to email that idea to their writing team. Stan from American Dad got sent to Saudi Arabia so Homer can come to Kuwait
if we couldn’t handle the sewer then when we could?
if we “Arab in general” didn’t aim high, we’ll at stay between holes for ever after..
its the same concept i find at work, when we face a problem, i suggest a solution, then my suggestion is wrong without being discussed, if another foreign western suggested 5 mins later the same solution, then its a professional one
duh !
Nael:
I was referring to civil nuclear reactors
https://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf06.html
that list you linked us to is just accidents that involve nuclear material and if you actually bothered to read the article you linked yourself, you’d see that there’s only one mention of a accident at an actual working Nuclear Reactor (besides the two i mentioned before) and it wasn’t even dangerous.
Everything else are accidents involving accidents with Nuclear material, like I mentioned before.
Oh and check this list out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_reactors
If half of those countries can handle Nuclear Powerplants then I’m sure Kuwait can.
If other countries can…why can’t Kuwait.
Atleast they are spending money on sumthing other than building malls
Its a good step forward, but i am very pesimistic. This is very dangerous stuff and conflicts with the laid back mentality in kuwait workers. Nuclear powers have zero margins of error. Very difficult to achieve.
Patrick,
Holy geez, I knew this would turn ugly…..
First of all, you didn’t refer to ANYTHING in your initial post. No links, websites, nothing.
We don’t read minds you know.
You mentioned:
“There has only been two nuclear reactor accidents”.
I disputed that and gave everyone a link that shows that there were more.
You said:
“that list you linked us to is just accidents that involve nuclear material”
No you are wrong, the list I linked to also included the Chernobyl incident, many people died in that incident, unless you consider them as material too?
You said:
“if you actually bothered to read the article you linked yourself, you’d see that there’s only one mention of a accident at an actual working Nuclear Reactor (besides the two i mentioned before) and it wasn’t even dangerous”
Why are you bringing up those details now?
All you mentioned in your initial post was that there were only two nuclear reactor incidents since the Nuclear power. And that list I linked to showed the opposite.
You initial post didn’t say anything about incidents that occurred in the 1950s only,
or incidents that actually killed people,
or incidents that occurred on reactors that are still functioning today
or incidents that were done by the French,
nor incidents that only killed 1000 cows and 189 chickens!
If you actually bothered to (learn how to read and “comprehend” English), then we wouldn’t have this discussion, and we would just comment on Mark’s suggestion for a Simpson’s episode, which I believe would be hilarious! 😀
Nael:
In my initial post I specifically mentioned “Nuclear Powerplants” and Chernobyl. The only reason this is “turning ugly” is because you’re trying desperately to prove me wrong.
So you have really proved nothing. We all know there have been deaths involving nuclear waste and nuclear material, so your link really didn’t state anything new. You just need to learn how to read replies properly, word by word without skipping anything. If you had, you would’ve avoided all this. I said Nuclear reactors and nuclear power, I never mentioned any other sort of Nuclear material.
So my point still stands. Nuclear Power is pretty safe and if all those countries (some poorer than Kuwait) can safely run a powerplant, then I’m sure Kuwait can succeed in doing that.
Nael:whoa dude!seriously wtf?!
you talk a lot for a guy who knows jack shit about the subject.
Patrick: you nailed it.
We don’t need the good old ‘Homer” since we already have Homer(s) as part of the current band orchestrating Kuwait’s way to be nuclear!!!!!!!!! Seriously, just Google it and get the committee/authority members and elite part-timers. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the common dominator. Hint: The drastically irrelevant background is not it!
Anyone interested in a vision on how to get this gigantic project through our professional parliament? That will be a realistic thinking.
4 for what ? 1 power plant can generate enough electricity for the entire country. Unless they wanna power Iraq and part of Saudi Arabia !
Hi Mark,
What you saw back then was the french company intent to seek investors.. one way to bring investors over is by seeking oil rich states such as Kuwait and offering them the technology as an investment incentive.
Kuwait is indeed going to face a great electrical power issue in the coming few years. However electric power stations are not the real answer. Kuwait lacks many regulations about electricity demand management. And decision makers in Kuwait are already aware of that. But reducing consumption seems like not the kind of things they want… it is not good for business.
i’m surprised how the population and the future of a whole country doesn’t seems to matter them and all what they care about is pleasing a handful of people who wish to profit from certain projects. In this nuclear power project… the ones pocketing on most of the profit are the french with their ailing company AREVA which has been struggling with their projects (some of them got even suspended!).
@Mesh
@Patrick
You do realize that nuclear power reactors run on fuel? the fuel costs money, waste disposal costs money, foreign labor to operate the entire facility costs money… it will costs us so much just to build nuclear power reactors… it will cost us even more to operate them.
Keep in mind that the French are behind this project, the french AREVA to be specific.. and AREVA threatened to cut off electricity from france couple of months ago… if they do that to their own people, imagine what they will do for us.
Waste disposal is another issue… sure we may just send it abroad, but this will cause Kuwait large commitments and will cost lots of money once this has become restricted even further. Keep in mind that the UN commissions did not approve the use of nuclear power as a way for sustainable development and this is a good indicator of what kind of restrictions are going to come.
If you even look at AREVA recruitment page you’ll notice that they themselves are now looking into different sources of electricity.. they are investing heavily in research and development in the fields of renewable and other non nuclear alternative energy. This is the real future for electricity, and this is where the US, Germany, and the rest of europe are going.
what’re doing in the mideast and gcc is basically buying their old technology to fund their future projects.
Kuwait is not a bank or a village full of uneducated savages. We are a civilized community with serious development aspirations. A nuclear power plant is a sixty years commitment… I am one of the people who refuse to allow the results of current corruption in our system to affect my future offspring!
time to pack and leave. read about depleted uranium in Kuwait and its effects on rising cancer cases. Catastrophe in the making.
I second realist. Cancer is on the rise here in Kuwait. I wonder if KISR has done any research on the effects of the invasion and the rise of Cancer in Kuwait. I mean, how polluted is our water and air?
Weez now nuclear camel jocks.
LOL..This is all about countering the Persians.
I work between all the powerstations( All Gas Oil and Crude Oil Base stations) in Kuwait, mostly upgrading work of systems and auxilliaries.
Anyway, without Expats, these stations come to a standstill when there are faults. The Kuwaiti “engineers” go into panic mode. I have seen this happen all the time. Mistakenly closing valves, poor understanding of maintenance reports resulting in power outages in Kuwait
I agree, Kuwait lacks the mental capacity to understand and maintain a nuclear powerplant, well 4….
Remember Nuclear powerplants require large amounts of sea water for cooling the reactor, so these 4 will be located pretty close to the developed areas to compensate for allready stressed power networks. One at Fahaheel for sure and Shuwaik as well.
Bring on the Homer’s of Kuwait and lets get this party on !
راحت على الي عندهم شاليهات، جيرانكم بيصيرون مفاعلات نووية
Can some one clarify.. whether Kuwait is planning for Four Nuclear reactors or the FOURTH Generation Nuclear Plants
@Shock.engineer, Kuwaiti engineers act like this due to lack of training. Comparing Kuwaiti engineers with those who worked abroad on different plants is unfair. This point really pisses me off because I was attending at one conference in Kuwait and the Ministry of Electricity consultant Mr Wood claimed that the ministry will always have to ‘shadow’ Kuwaiti staff with expats!! I call this comment a load of bull**** based on my experience with young Kuwaitis working at different parts in the government. Most of the time they are full of ambitions,energy, and willing to work and take on any challenge. The problem is with the poor management and poor consultants that give crappy consults without being able to correctly analyze the current system they have in place. They say Kuwaitis don’t want to work… Kuwaitis at the EPA did not mind standing in the piles of shit (and I do mean it literally) when mishrif incident took place. It was hot and humid, the humidity almost doubled the heat, it was ramadan and they people were fasting… yet they didn’t mind to stand outside and work in the heat just to get samples and run some tests.
Our problem in Kuwait is with poor consultants who ‘customize’ their advice not based on their expertise but based on what their ‘bosses’ instruct them to do!!!!
@Sunny, four reactors of the third generation.
Nuclear Power Plants?
N.I.M.B.Y (Not In My Backyard). I don’t even care who’s going to run the planets. This is not a safe enough region to have four nuclear power plants. If they wanted to improve Kuwait’s energy output then they can just stop subsidizing power consumption and place regulation to end wasteful use of energy.
Solar and Wind should do us fine. It’s not like anyone is scrambling to use up the whole desert.
@3azeez,
in addition to the lack of training, there is a lack of ‘5elg’ as “mali 5elg” is a very familiar phrase to our ears.
@Mesh, what do you expect if they have no hope or chance of getting promoted? This ‘5elg’ you’re talking about will come if there is hope of getting fair evaluation and fair promotion. They start with high ambitions and full of energy wanting to work… but after they get slapped over and over by their management they start loosing hope and their productivity is reduced. Don’t blame the workforce blame the management who is intentionally corrupting the work in order to privatize this sector.
@3azeez
and this management nationality is ?
thank you very much
@Mesh, I’m sorry but what? you think you proved a point?! Which is what exactly? You were arguing that Kuwaitis don’t work (and I was assuming we’re talking about the blue collar workers). As for the problem with the management I already highlighted it in my previous comments. Nationality is irrelevant in their case first because management usually depending on foreign consultants and second because their poor performance is not caused by laziness but rather prioritizing their own benefits.
@3azeez,
but in a recent interview to Al Watan or Arab times, the CEO of Gulf Monitoring Group Dr. Thafer Al-Ajmi said that Kuwait is planning for Fourth Generation nuclear plants
As a medical doctor I dont think this is the best option for Kuwait.
Nuclear reactors are difficult to maintain and studies have shown that they may increase the risk of leukemia in children and other forms of cancer.
There are other options available before they consider building 4 (!) plants! Namely : Solar and wind energy.
I think wasta is involved in this some way and I really hope they find a lot of pressure from parilment.
will this is very good decesion for kuwait as im kuwaitian im worried wha we will do if the our oil depleted because its our only economical fund but by building a nuclear plant we wont worry about that for a long time but for who said only one reactor can handle kuwait its true but you dont want all the egg’s in the same basket i think you got it there must be some backups and we dont want full load 100/100 on one reactor because if there was a radiation leak it will affect the entire country kuwait is not bigger than heroshima and nagazaki and you all can see what happened to them next thing thank god that we didnt built this plants 20 years old because of saddam hussein invasion because he burned up to 25/% of our oil fields and if there was a nuclear reactors he certainly will blow them at last or at least it dosent matter we will finnaly pay or money for something worse i would rather a japanese to handle my technology rather than an american
i would say its a very risky deal…
i dont understad the need of four reactors… Kuwait is a tiny country.. one mishap and boom… everything is gonna be history…