Construction of Unit 3 at the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant has been completed said Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC). The move is said to demonstrate the UAE’s progress in transitioning to cleaner energy sources, rapidly decarbonising the power sector, cutting carbon emissions, and increasing power supply to meet the growing electricity demand.

According to a statement, Unit 3 has now been handed over for operational readiness activities and is on track to start up and deliver clean electricity in 2023, joining Unit 1, which is fully operational. Unit 2 is connected to the UAE grid and undergoing testing while raising power levels, ENEC explained.

As the UAE’s bid to host COP 28 in 2023 is endorsed by the member states of the UN’s Asia Pacific group, the tangible efforts the nation is making in cutting carbon emissions as part of its climate commitments and the recently launched 2050 Net Zero Initiative are clear. This milestone means that the Barakah Plant will soon deliver yet another 1,400MW of zero emissions electricity, highlighting the UAE’s leading role as a clean energy leader, ENEC stated.

“With Unit 1 already commercially operating and Unit 2 recently connected to the UAE grid, Unit 3 construction completion demonstrates the steady progress we are making with the development of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant. As the world gathers at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, the need for concrete actions to tackle climate change is indisputable and urgent. The Barakah Plant, with its rapid decarbonisation of the power sector, is delivering climate solutions today and with Unit 3 construction now complete, we are progressing smoothly towards supplying a quarter of the UAE’s electricity needs completely carbon free,” commented Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, MD & CEO of ENEC.

With Unit 3 completing construction, ENEC is said to be demonstrating the significant progress made in delivering climate solutions today, and fulfilling the UAE’s promise of clean energy using nuclear technology to provide the baseload clean electricity needed to support intermittent renewable energy sources.

By 2025 it is projected that the Barakah plant will have cut Abu Dhabi’s carbon emissions by 50%, demonstrating the significant abilities of nuclear energy in producing baseload electricity without generating carbon emissions. The focus of Unit 3 in the next phase will shift to complete the operational readiness preparations, testing, regulatory inspections, and international assessments required to obtain the Operating License for Unit 3 from the UAE’s independent nuclear regulator, the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), the statement noted.

Prior to granting such approval via the issuance of the Operating License for Unit 3, FANR is carrying out detailed inspections and reviews of all aspects of the plant and the operating organisation. In addition to FANR’s extensive review process, and in line with the commitments made by the UAE in 2008 to adhere to the highest standards of safety, security, quality, non-proliferation and operational transparency, Unit 3 and its operating team will now undergo a number of assessments by independent international nuclear energy experts from the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO).

Construction of the Plant began in 2012 and has progressed steadily ever since. The development of the Barakah Plant as a whole is now more than 96% complete. When fully operational, the plant will produce 5.6 gigawatts of free carbon electricity for more than 60 years, the statement concluded.