The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) has announced that Unit 1 of the four reactors being developed in the UAE’s nuclear energy programme in Barakah, Abu Dhabi, is now more than 57 per cent complete.

Meanwhile, construction of Unit 2 is also well under way.

The Enec’s strategic objective is to supply safe, clean, reliable and efficient nuclear energy that supports continued growth in the UAE, it said.

The indicative timeline for the power station to enter commercial operation is for Unit 1 in 2017, Unit 2 in 2018, Unit 3 in 2019 and the final Unit 4 in 2020.

The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) recently announced that it had granted Enec approval to commence construction of Units 3 and 4, following an 18-month rigorous review by the regulator and a team of nuclear energy experts in conjunction with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Republic of Korea’s nuclear energy regulator. 

In May 2014, Enec received its first reactor vessel, which is one of the largest components in a nuclear energy plant and is one of the many defence-in-depth barriers to ensure safety of the plant. Controlled nuclear reactions occurring inside the vessel release energy that is then converted into electricity.

In February this year, Enec accomplished another key milestone, installing one of the largest condensers in the Middle East region, a critical component used in all types of power plants which plays an important role in the generation of electricity, cooling steam back into water for the turbine generation process to repeat continuously.

The condenser is made up of three sections connected by equalizing ducts, with each section measuring 26m in length and weighing 700,000kg. The condenser sections were fabricated in South Korea and shipped to Barakah. The condenser welding was completed in the Unit 1 Reactor Containment Building, which took more than seven months to complete.

The four APR-1400 reactors being developed by Enec will provide approximately 25 per cent of the UAE’s electricity needs, saving up to 12 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year. – TradeArabia News Service