Saudi Has Trillions In Oil Wealth, But Here's Why It Wants Nuclear Power

Saudi Arabia is one of the world's biggest oil producers, but it is now moving ahead with plans to develop nuclear energy. The move comes after the United States signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the Middle Eastern country.The deal allows the two countries to work together on developing Saudi Arabia's civil nuclear energy programme. This could help Saudi Arabia build nuclear power plants, develop nuclear technology and, under the deal, allow the kingdom to enrich uranium.Saudi Arabia has said its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes. Still, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has previously said that if neighbouring Iran developed a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would do the same.Oil remains the backbone of Saudi Arabia's economy. In 2022, crude oil accounted for about 40% of the country's economy (GDP). The kingdom, though, wants to reduce its reliance on oil under its Vision 2030 plan, according to The NY Times.Even though Saudi Arabia has a lot of oil and other natural resources, the government has spent more money than it has earned in almost every year. It has recorded budget deficits in nine of the last 10 years.Saudi Arabia currently burns large amounts of its own oil and natural gas to generate electricity. So, if nuclear power is used to produce electricity, the country can save more of its oil for exports and selling more crude oil to other countries will bring in higher revenues than using it at home to generate power.In 2016, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched Vision 2030, a plan to modernise Saudi Arabia and reduce what he called the country's "addiction" to oil and also hopes to become an exporter of uranium ore in the future.Saudi Arabia has said it wants half of its electricity to come from clean energy sources like solar and wind by 2030. But it is still far from reaching that goal because less than 1% of Saudi Arabia's electricity comes from solar and wind power, with almost all of the rest generated using oil and natural gas.