As global electricity demand surges, nuclear energy is having a bit of a moment - and the Middle East is apparently determined not to be left out of the party. Several countries in the region are now evaluating or actively advancing nuclear power projects, balancing what the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) calls a “huge opportunity” against regional security, climate conditions, and the small matter of international cooperation.
Shota Kamishima, Senior Coordination Officer at the IAEA, says nuclear energy sits at the “intersection of energy demands, technological innovation, and the evolving security landscape.” When developed properly, he claims, it can support sustainable development, enhance energy resilience, and even serve as a platform for regional cooperation. One imagines the platform might get a bit wobbly.
The 2011 Fukushima accident took some shine off nuclear power, but the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference officially recognized it as a low-emission technology worth accelerating. Thirty-three countries signed on to triple nuclear capacity by 2050, including the United Arab Emirates, where the Barakah plant already meets about 25 percent of domestic energy needs. Currently, 416 reactors in 31 countries provide nearly 10 percent of the world’s electricity, with 63 more under construction and some 60 countries exploring the option, including small modular reactors.
Egypt is particularly bullish. Alongside renewable projects like the Benban Solar Park and Gulf of Suez Wind Farm, it’s nearly done building the El Dabaa nuclear power plant - 4,800 megawatts of capacity that Egyptian authorities believe will help build a stable, efficient system and let them sell clean electricity abroad. Because nothing says stability like a nuclear plant in a neighborhood with a colorful recent history.
Almuntaser Albalawi, a researcher at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), notes that energy demand in the Middle East and North Africa has tripled from 2000 to 2024 and keeps rising, driven by AI and economic transformation. The region also has a unique need for desalination and cooling, making stable energy sources even more urgent. But then there’s the geopolitical environment - which, let’s face it, raises some questions.
Professor Zia Mian of Princeton University points out that a nuclear power plant has a life cycle of about 75 years from construction to decommissioning. He asks: “What has the Middle East been like in the past 75 years?” He then helpfully lists the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973, the Iran-Iraq war, the US-Iraq wars, and the Syrian civil war. “Are you willing to bet that the next 75 years will be fundamentally different from the past 75 years?”
Then there’s the climate. The World Meteorological Organization’s first State of the Arab Climate Report (2024) says the Middle East is warming twice as fast as the global average, with temperatures potentially rising five degrees Celsius by century’s end. That directly affects nuclear plant operations. “The Middle East will be virtually uninhabitable for people to live outdoors,” Mian says. Also, nuclear plants need enormous amounts of cooling water, and every summer, when people need electricity most, France has to shut down plants because it’s too hot.
Professor Mian suggests the fastest, cheapest electricity comes from renewables. “Instead of waiting 10 years for nuclear power, you can get a decade of solar or wind power at a fraction of the cost.” He dismisses the so-called “nuclear revival” as an old idea - a flying carpet every generation tries to sell. “That kind of technological determinism of ‘buy my reactor, tomorrow is the golden age’ is the worst. The world doesn't work that way. Politics, people, systems and history are the key.”