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Barakah N-plant to save 21m tonnes of carbon emissions

Abu Dhabi - Unit 1 of the four-reactor plant was 96 per cent ready and would be operational from next year

The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, once operational, would save up to 21 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year, according to a top official.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Mohamed Al Hammadi, the chief executive officer of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec), said once the four reactors are online, the facility will deliver up to a quarter of the UAE's electricity needs.

Nuclear energy may not be the cheapest but is the cleanest form of energy, he added.

Al Hammadi added that Unit 1 of the four-reactor plant was 96 per cent ready and would be operational from next year. And once all the four units are fully operational, the plant can produce uninterrupted power for 18 months.

"I wish to serve the whole UAE. The total plant capacity is 5,600 MW. One fuel load works for 18 months, the plant will work for more than 60 years," he said during an interaction with journalists at the nuclear site.

Enec has also completed the cold hydrostatic testing (CHT) at Unit 2.

The testing confirms welds, joints, pipes and components of the reactor coolant system and associated high-pressure systems are in line with the regulations of the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.

"Achieving CHT for Unit 2 is of great significance to the Barakah project," said Al Hammadi. "As the delivery of the four nuclear units progresses, we ensure that all of the organisations working on the Barakah plant, the biggest nuclear construction project in the world, continuously look to improve the delivery of our programme through our acquired knowledge from preceding tests, units and works; making our project more quality and safety driven, as well as efficient."

On any further expansion, he said: "ENEC is concentrating on finalising and operating the four units, that is the main focus."

He said the plant meets global standards of safety, quality and cybersecurity.

Safety overriding priority

There are thousands of construction labourers at the site, and most of them are ignorant of ways to work at a nuclear site. And last year, two workers were killed in a construction-related accident at the site.

Al Hammadi said comprehensive studies were done as the corporation wanted to make sure such things never happen again. "We had fatality. We have done lot of comprehensive analysis."

According to the analysis, he said: "We found a gap in the skill expertise among labourers. Then we did a comprehensive training. We never want to compromise on safety."

The corporation's non-stop journey to excellence will continue, Al Hammadi said.

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com