Hitting a major construction milestone at the United Arab Emirate's first nuclear power plant this week demonstrates the shifting nature of the industry, where new plants are being built in unlikely places.
On Wednesday, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) said work had been completed on the first of four reactor containment vessels slated for a facility west of Abu Dhabi that is expected to supply 25 percent of the country's power by 2020.
The company said work on the first reactor was 60 percent complete. Work has already begun on the second and third units with the first concrete pours for Unit 3 begun in September.
Enec said work on the first unit's dome was done. The dome by itself measures more than 168 feet across. 79 feet tall and weighs about 9,000 metric tons.
The state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation was awarded the $20 billion construction contract for the facility in 2009.
As far as nuclear power markets go, the Middle East is not China or France. Still, it is telling that nuclear power is finding its way into the region historically flush with oil. The Fars News Agency reported this week that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had revealed an intention to build two nuclear power plants in Iran, aiming at increasing power generation capacity by 2,000 megawatts.