Offers insight into UAE’s peaceful nuclear energy programme

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) hosted a group of delegates of the New Nuclear International Conference (NNIC) at Barakah, the selected site of the UAE peaceful nuclear energy programme for a site tour on November 10, the ENEC revealed in an official communiqué. The group comprising government officials, nuclear energy leaders and experts from around the globe had the opportunity to gain insight into the ongoing construction work of the Barakah site, where the UAE’s first two nuclear energy plants are under construction, the communiqué added.

According to ENEC, the site tour, organised on the occasion of the inaugural NNIC Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal, running from November 11 to 14, was hosted by Chief Nuclear Officer (CNO), George Vanderheyden and Ali Al Zaabi, Executive Project and Construction Director.

The visit reportedly included different locations of the project, such as the Rebar Fabrication Workshop, the Site Concrete Plant, the Marine Work, Units 1 & 2 and the Main Control Room Simulator.

About the tour, Vanderheyden said: “This is a chance where we can explain why the project is a ‘Gold Standard’ for other responsible nations considering engaging nuclear new build programmes. The UAE government and ENEC are insisting on following the highest standards of safety and quality in every step of the project which makes the project an example that should be replicated.”

Apart from giving information on the site tour, the ENEC’s communiqué also highlighted its programmes: It has recently reached the milestone for Barakah Unit 1, with the completion of the fabrication and installation of the Containment Liner Plate (CLP) in the Reactor Containment Building. Commercial operations for Unit 1 are set to commence in 2017, subject to regulatory approvals.

Barakah Unit 2 is also well under way and will take five years to be constructed, with the plant scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2018, pending regulatory approval. ENEC will apply for an Operating License for Units 1 and 2 in 2015. With four plants operational by 2020, nuclear energy will deliver up to a quarter of the UAE’s electricity needs, while saving up to 12 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.