Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) has announced that its operating and maintenance subsidiary, Nawah Energy Company (Nawah), has successfully started up Unit 2 of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, located in the Al Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi.
It is particularly poignant that the milestone has been delivered just a day before Emirati Women’s Day, with female Emirati nuclear reactor operators joining the crew that successfully initiated start-up for Unit 2, reflecting the leading role that female UAE nationals are playing in the country’s peaceful nuclear energy program and clean electricity transition, said the statement from Enec.
This milestone highlights the significant progress being made in bringing the four units of the Barakah Plant online, in a safe and timely manner, to quickly decarbonize the UAE’s energy sector, it added.
Enec CEO Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi said: "We have reached another major milestone in the delivery of the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program today, as part of our journey to power the country with clean, abundant 24/7 electricity. The Barakah Plant supports the sustainable growth and prosperity of the nation."
"With the start-up of Unit 2, we are now almost halfway to achieving our goal of supplying up to a quarter of our country’s electricity needs and enabling sustainable growth and in parallel, achieving UAE climate change targets. We are proud of the leading role that Emirati women have played in achieving continuous progress at Barakah and it is a timely moment to start-up Unit 2 as the nation begins to celebrate Emirati Women’s Day," he added.
Nawah, the joint venture nuclear operations and maintenance subsidiary of Enec and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), have been safely progressing through a comprehensive testing programme, prior to successfully completing the start-up of the second nuclear energy reactor of the Barakah Plant.
Nawah CEO Ali Al Hammadi said: "It is another momentous occasion for the Barakah Plant, and we congratulate our talented team for completing the safe and successful start-up of Unit 2. Preparations will now continue as we work safely and steadily towards grid connection and eventually the start of commercial operations for the second Unit of the Barakah Plant."
"We remain committed to ensuring nuclear operational excellence across all of units, and we thank our partners in the UAE and across the globe for their continuous support in helping us achieve these milestones to the highest operating standards," he added.
In the coming months, Unit 2 will be connected to the national electricity grid and the nuclear operators will continue with a process of gradually raising the power levels, known as Power Ascension Testing (PAT).
The process will be continuously monitored and tested until maximum electricity production is reached, while adhering to all regulatory requirements and the highest international standards of safety, quality and security.
When fully operational, the four units of the plant will produce 5.6 gigawatts of electricity while preventing the release of more than 21 million tons of carbon emissions every year, equivalent to removing 3.2 million cars off the roads annually, and equivalent to those emissions from charging 7.3 billion smartphones daily.
