Connecting Barakah's first peaceful nuclear power plant to the UAE's electricity transmission network
The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation announced that its subsidiary Nawah Energy Company, which is responsible for operating and maintaining the Barakah peaceful nuclear energy stations, and in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Transmission and Control Company (TRANSCO) of the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), has successfully completed the process of securely connecting the first peaceful nuclear power plants of Barakah. With the main power grid of the United Arab Emirates, after aligning the station with the requirements of the network, and starting the production of the first megawatt of environmentally friendly electric power.
This is the first time that the first station in Barakah has been connected to the electricity grid in the UAE, after the success of "Nawah" in starting the operations of the plant at the end of July 2020, as the operation team of the reactor began since then to conduct a series of tests and raise the energy level steadily and consistently. Gradually, until reaching the production level of the first megawatt of primary load electricity from the Barakah plants project being developed in Al Dhafra region.
Connecting the first station to the electricity grid represents a very important achievement during the development of the UAE's peaceful nuclear program and the Barakah peaceful nuclear energy plants, which are the cornerstone of the program, in accordance with the highest standards of safety, security and quality.
In this regard, the CEO of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, said, “Connecting the first peaceful nuclear energy plant to the UAE’s electricity grid in a safe manner marks the moment in which we have already begun to fulfill our mission to support growth in the country by producing environmentally friendly electrical energy. Around the clock, as this marks the beginning of a new phase for the Barakah stations project after years of preparations and commitment to the highest international safety and quality standards We are confident that the work teams and technology used in the stations will be able to continue progress towards achieving the goal of providing about 25% of the state’s needs from Electric energy for the next sixty years, as Barakah plants, along with other environmentally friendly energy sources, are one of the most important pillars of the transition to environmentally friendly energy in the region and the world, which puts the country on a new path for sustainable development and reducing carbon emissions from the production of electric energy.
Al Hammadi added, “This achievement of producing the first megawatts of electricity using nuclear energy was achieved as a result of close and continuous cooperation with our local and international partners. We also express our appreciation to Abu Dhabi Transmission and Control Company (TRANSCO), and the Korean Electric Power Company (KEPCO), our partner in the joint consortium and the main contractor. For the Barakah plants, in addition to many concerned parties in the country and international experts who have worked with us over the past decade, and whose expertise, together with the expertise of the nuclear energy sector at the global level, has contributed to strengthening our commitment to the highest standards of safety, quality, security, transparency and non-proliferation during all stages of the program development. UAE peaceful nuclear program.
Transco played a pivotal role in the connection process, as it established a network of 952 km of overhead lines with a voltage of 400 kilovolts to connect the first peaceful nuclear power stations to the Abu Dhabi power grid to ensure that the electricity produced by the first plant in Barakah was safely and reliably delivered to the beneficiaries in all Across the state.
On this occasion, Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company (TRANSCO) CEO Dr. Afif Saif Al-Yafei said, “TRANSCO plays an important role in promoting a more sustainable energy future in the UAE, and with the progress witnessed in the country in terms of environmentally friendly energy projects. TRANSCO is working to effectively ensure the alignment between its infrastructure and these projects, with the aim of providing safe and stable energy supplies to the community. Completing the alignment process with the first peaceful nuclear energy plants of Barakah is an important step towards increasing the ability to produce environmentally friendly energy and connect it to the electricity grid.
Dr. Al-Yafei added: “Transco, a subsidiary of TAQA, which specializes in transport and control, is proud of its partnership with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and its subsidiary Nawah Energy Company, in such a strategic project for the UAE, and we look forward to strengthening our partnership for the next phases of the project.”
With the completion of the connection and the connection of the plant to the main grid, the operators of the nuclear reactor in the first plant will begin to gradually raise the level of power of the reactor in what is known as the progressive energy test, during which the systems of the first plant will be monitored and tested to ensure that they adhere to international best practices while continuing the safe progress towards the production of electricity completely. Upon completion of this process, the first plant will produce abundant quantities of base load electricity to reach its peak energy production in order to support the growth and prosperity process in the UAE for decades to come. The progressive energy test will also be conducted under the continuous supervision of the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, which has conducted more than 280 inspections at the Barakah peaceful nuclear power plants since the start of their development, in addition to more than 40 evaluations and reviews carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Association of Operators. The nuclear.
The CEO of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, expressed his pride in the Emirati competencies of engineers and specialists in nuclear energy who contributed to the construction and completion of the first plant, in addition to the Emirati operating managers and reactor operators who underwent advanced training programs around the world, which enabled them to possess knowledge. And sufficient expertise to manage the plant, along with global expertise, and to reach this achievement of supporting growth in the UAE by providing safe and reliable electrical energy to the electricity grid.
While electricity is one of the fastest growing energy sources in terms of demand in the world as it is increasingly used in multiple aspects of our social and economic life, the Barakah peaceful nuclear energy plants contribute to supporting the UAE's efforts to produce abundant electrical energy and reduce carbon emissions in the energy sector. In addition to contributing to the diversification of the economy by providing thousands of rewarding job opportunities through establishing and developing a peaceful nuclear sector and a local supply chain.
The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation recently announced the completion of the construction work in the second plant, in addition to the start of the Nawah Energy Company in operational preparations, at a time when the construction work in the third and fourth stations reached their final stages, with the completion rate in the third station reaching 93%, and the fourth station. 86%, while the overall achievement rate of the four stations reached 94%.