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Jordan, Rolls-Royce sign MoU to build SMR in Kingdom

The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Chairman Khale Toukan
The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Chairman Khale Toukan
AMMAN, Nov 10 (KUNA) -- The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) has signed a MoU with Rolls-Royce to conduct a technical feasibility study to build a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) program for power generation and water desalination in the Kingdom, the JAEC said Friday.
The MoU provides for cooperation between the two sides to identify technical, economic, financial and safety factors for building the 440-Megawatt SMR program, the Jordan News Agency (Petra) quoted JAEC Deputy Chairman Kamal Al-A'raj as saying.
Al-A'raj signed the memo with Director Strategy and Business Development at Rolls-Royce Alan Woods in the British embassy in Paris.
JAEC Chairman Khale Toukan told Petra today that the memo is of great importance and it comes within Jordan's endeavors to add nuclear power to the Kingdom's energy mix. He said Rolls-Royce champions a British consortium to design the SMRs, which are low cost and reduce carbon emission.
In October 2013, the Jordanian government said that it had contracted Russia's Rosatom to build the Kingdom's first two nuclear reactors, 1000-Watt each. They are expected to be operational by 2022.
The move aimed to enhance local power sources to reduce the country's energy bill; Jordan imports up to 97 percent of its power. (end) ab.msa