Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center (Dimona) is a nuclear research center in Negev Desert, Israel. It functions as a Heavy-water reactor + reprocessing (research). It is operated by Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC). Current status: Operational. In service since 1963.
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id NUC-IL-DIMONA.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, universally known as Dimona, is Israel's principal nuclear complex, in the Negev desert south-east of the town of Dimona. Built with French assistance and operational from the early 1960s, it houses a heavy-water reactor and, according to extensive open-source analysis, plutonium-separation facilities widely understood to underpin Israel's undeclared nuclear-weapons capability.
Israel maintains a policy of nuclear opacity and the site is not under IAEA safeguards. It is one of the most analysed and most-searched nuclear locations in the Middle East. Dimona is a research and production complex, not a civilian power station, and supplies no electricity to the grid.
Technically it is described as Heavy-water reactor + reprocessing (research). This facility converts its energy source into electricity for the grid; its capacity, fuel type and location determine its role in the national power mix.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC).
This nuclear plant generates electricity for the grid. It sits in a hot semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 31.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).
For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.
Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.
Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.
Israel has 2 nuclear power plants in this dataset, together about 5 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 31.0017, 35.1447 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
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Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center (Dimona) is a nuclear research center in Negev Desert, Israel, operated by Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC).
No — Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center (Dimona) is a nuclear research center and does not generate grid electricity.
It is located near Dimona, Negev Desert, at approximately 31.002, 35.145.
Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center (Dimona) is used for Heavy-water reactor + reprocessing (research).
Operational
Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center (Dimona) is operated by Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC).
