Abu Dhabi (AFP)
The United Arab Emirates announced Monday that it has given the green light to the operation of the Barakah nuclear power plant, the first in the Arab world, but without specifying the date of its commissioning, already long delayed.
"The Federal Nuclear Regulatory Authority (FANR) has approved the issuance of the operating license for reactor 1 of the plant to the Nawah company," the Emirates' permanent representative to the International Energy Agency said Atomic Energy (IAEA), Hamad Alkaabi, at a press conference in Abu Dhabi.
It will start up in the "near future", he added.
Founded in 2016, Nawah Energy Company will eventually operate and maintain the four reactors at the Barakah power plant in the northwest of the country, according to the company's website.
"This is a new step in our march towards the development of peaceful nuclear energy," said Mohammed ben Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, on Twitter.
"Our efforts continue to prepare for the next 50 years and to meet the country's energy needs," added the strong man from the United Arab Emirates.
The facility was built by a consortium led by Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and the Korean Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), at an estimated cost of $ 24.4 billion (22.5 billion euros).
The first of the four reactors was to be commissioned at the end of 2017, but the start date has been postponed several times to meet, according to officials, the legal safety conditions.
- 25% of needs -
"This is a historic moment for the United Arab Emirates (...) which crowns the efforts of 12 years of construction", also welcomed Mr. Alkaabi during the press conference.
"After the granting of the operating license for the first reactor, the operator Nawah will launch its commissioning to prepare for its entry into commercial operation," he said.
When fully operational, the four reactors will have the capacity to produce 5,600 megawatts of electricity, about 25% of the needs of the United Arab Emirates, an oil-rich country.
The federal state, made up of seven emirates, has a population of 9.3 million, of which around 80% are expatriates.
The need for electricity is increasing, due in particular to the systematic use of air conditioning during scorching summers.
ENEC, a public company, announced in December that the loading of nuclear fuel into the reactor is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2020.
- "Peaceful" program -
Emirati officials insist on the "peaceful" nature of their nuclear program and assure that it contains no military component, in a context of increased regional tensions.
"The Emirates remain committed to the highest standards of nuclear security and nuclear non-proliferation as well as solid and continuous cooperation with the IAEA and national and international partners," said Hamad Alkaabi.
The country has hosted more than 40 international missions and inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) since 2010.
For its part, Qatar says it sees in Barakah a "threat to regional peace".
Like many of its allies, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi is on a diplomatic streak with the neighboring emirate, with which it has had no official relations since June 2017.
Abu Dhabi, like Ryad, also maintains tense ties with Tehran.
The nuclear power plant is located on the northwest coast of the country and is therefore only separated from Iran, opposite, by the waters of the Gulf.
Great ally of the Emirates, the United States pursues a policy of "maximum pressure" against the Islamic Republic, accused for several months of causing trouble in the region, in particular by attacking oil tankers in the waters of the Gulf.
Ryad and Washington have also accused Iran, who denies it, of being behind the September 2019 attack on major facilities of the oil giant Saudi Aramco.
A Gulf specialist requesting anonymity said that "the intensification of regional tensions increases the vulnerability of new energy infrastructure" faced with the risk of such attacks.
© 2020 AFP