UAE’s nuclear power plants partly completed – ENEC

6 December 2015

The UAE’s dream to generate electricity from nuclear power plants gathers pace as the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), the entity responsible for implementing the country’s nuclear energy programme, completes several major construction milestones, according to state news agency WAM. These include the completion of the 2,000-tonne containment liner plate for the reactor containment building (RCB), including placement of the upper dome, lifting of the pressuriser into place and lifting of the roof frame for Unit 2 of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant main control room.

ENEC has carried out more than 80 per cent of construction at Barakah Unit 1, while Unit 2 is nearly 60 per cent complete. The corporation plans to build another two units by 2020. It is expected that the four reactors at Barakah, when completed, will have a combined generating capacity of approximately 5,600 MW and will supply nearly one-quarter of electricity demand in the UAE.“Each unit’s progression remains scheduled at approximately 12 months apart. This allows our highly skilled workforce to move efficiently and deliberately through their tasks to ensure the safe and timely delivery of the entire project,” says Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO of ENEC.

The UAE has been ramping up its efforts to diversify energy sources and has plans to invest $35 billion by 2021 for clean energy projects. Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, earlier told AMEinfo that the country was aiming to put the share of clean energy at 24 per cent of the total energy by 2020. In another development in the day, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to make Dubai a global centre of clean energy and green economy. With the AED100bn strategy Sheikh Mohammed envisions to have solar panels installed on the roofs of all buildings by 2030.

The project aims to provide seven per cent of the emirate’s energy from clean energy sources by 2020, raising that to 25 per cent by 2030 and 75 per cent by 2050. The emirate authorities plan to establish a Dh100 billion ($27 billion) fund to provide low-cost loans for investors in Dubai’s clean energy sector.