Before Japan’s Fukushima disaster and the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings of 2010-11, Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, as well as Egypt and some other North African states, were seriously considering nuclear power as a long-term energy replacement for hydrocarbons. Now, only the UAE and possibly Saudi Arabia look on track to make a real commitment to nuclear energy (although Egypt and Morocco have both expressed interest in major projects). The first stage of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec)’s 5.6GW power plant at Barakah, in Abu Dhabi’s western region, is due to come on line by 2017.