Nuclear energy in Jordan
Encyclopedia
Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

 has signed memorandums of understanding with the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan, China, Russia, Spain, South Korea, Argentina, Romania, and Turkey. In December 2009, Jordan Atomic Energy Commission
Jordan Atomic Energy Commission
Jordan Atomic Energy Commission was established in place of the Jordan Nuclear Energy Commission. The main objective of the JAEC is to promote and develop peaceful utilization of atomic energy.-Objectives:...

 (JAEC) in cooperation with a consortium headed by the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute signed an agreement with Daewoo Heavy Industries to build a its first 5 MW research reactor by 2014 at the Jordan University of Science and Technology
Jordan University of Science and Technology
The Jordan University of Science and Technology , often abbreviated JUST, is a comprehensive, state-supported university located on the outskirts of Irbid at Ar Ramtha region, in northern Jordan....

.

The research reactor will become a focal point for a Nuclear Technology Centre, which will train upcoming generations of nuclear engineers and scientists in the Kingdom in addition to provide irradiation services for the industrial, agricultural and medical sectors.

Jordan plans to build at least one reactor by 2019. The government first chose a site 25 kilometers south of the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

 port of Aqaba
Aqaba
Aqaba is a coastal city in the far south of Jordan, the capital of Aqaba Governorate at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. Aqaba is strategically important to Jordan as it is the country's only seaport. Aqaba is best known today as a diving and beach resort, but industrial activity remains important...

 but shifted the tentative location to the Mafraq
Mafraq
Mafraq is the capital city of Mafraq Governorate, Jordan, located 80 Km to the north from the Jordanian capital Amman in crossroad to Syria to the north and Iraq to the east. It has 58,954 inhabitants...

 area, 40 kilometers northeast of Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...

, citing the proximity to the Khirbet Al Samra power plant for using its wastewater to cool the reactor. The decision to relocate the site was taken by the Belgian contractor, Tractabel, which has concluded that the seismic padding required to build on the original site near Aqaba would have led to additional costs of about 15 percent according to JAEC
Jordan Atomic Energy Commission
Jordan Atomic Energy Commission was established in place of the Jordan Nuclear Energy Commission. The main objective of the JAEC is to promote and develop peaceful utilization of atomic energy.-Objectives:...

 officials.

It will be used for electricity generation and desalination. The studies are carried out by Tractebel Engineering
Tractebel Engineering
Tractebel Engineering is a Belgium based, international company providing worldwide life-cycle consultancy and engineering in power, nuclear, gas, industry and infrastructure for the GDF SUEZ Group – within GDF SUEZ Energy Services - as well as for national and international institutions and...

.

Jordan has also granted Areva exclusive mining rights for uranium in central Jordan.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK