Unit 3 at Barakah Nuclear Power Plant begins commercial operations in UAE

Unit 3 at Barakah Nuclear Power Plant begins commercial operations in UAE

Abu Dhabi: The third reactor at the UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Power Plant has commenced commercial operations, plant owner Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) announced on Friday (February 24). The new milestone has been reached during the UAE’s Year of Sustainability. The commercial operations of Unit 3 adds a further 1,400 megawatts of zero-carbon emission electricity capacity, and represents the third unit to be delivered in three consecutive years. In total, production from Units 1, 2 and 3, all of which are now commercially operational, ensure the delivery of 4,200 megawatts of baseload, reliable, clean electricity to the UAE grid around the clock. The plant is located in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region. According to a press release sent by ENEC, teams at Barakah — which is operated by ENEC’s operational and maintenance subsidiary the Nawah Energy Company — have reduced the time taken to move from Fuel Load to Commercial Operations by four months for Unit 3 compared to Unit 2, and by more than five months compared to Unit 1. “This demonstrates how the operations’ teams have utilised and implemented the experience gained from the previous two reactors, while continuing to adhere to all national regulations and international standards.