Barakah stations support the country's march towards climate neutrality

Barakah stations support the country’s march towards achieving the goals of its strategic initiative for climate neutrality by 2050 by accelerating the reduction of the carbon footprint of the energy sector. The stations also provide a solution to climate change by producing abundant, reliable and environmentally friendly electricity for homes and business sectors across the country. 22.4 million tons of carbon emissions annually, while paving the way for the development of other environmentally friendly energy technologies such as hydrogen.

The importance of producing environment-friendly electricity is becoming increasingly important in the region, as temperatures rise in the height of the summer to about 40 degrees Celsius, the use of air conditioners increases and the demand for desalination of water for personal uses and irrigation increases.

The UAE has made great achievements in terms of supporting economic growth, with the Barakah Peaceful Nuclear Energy Plants being developed by the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation in the Al Dhafra region in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. 1,400 megawatts of carbon-neutral electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Barakah plants are one of the largest nuclear power plants in the world in terms of production capacity, with four reactors of advanced design APR-1400 that are capable of providing up to 25% of the UAE’s electricity needs when fully operational, thus providing a continuous source of electricity that supports energy In the country and without any carbon emissions, which makes the UAE peaceful nuclear program the ideal solution to various challenges.

The first plant of Barakah completed a full year of commercial operation, which began in April 2021 and produced more than 10.5 terawatts of environmentally friendly electricity. The commercial operation of the second plant also began in March 2022, less than a year after the commercial operation of the first plant, and consequently the stations of the first plant doubled. Barakah’s productivity and benefits to the state, which will increase further with the start of the operations of the third plant, expected in the current year 2022.

The first plant was subjected to a pre-planned process of refueling and maintenance, which is a process that occurs every 12 months and includes stopping the plant's reactor, carrying out more than 8,000 pre-planned maintenance activities, and replacing about a third of the fuel packages in the reactor core. Operation of the first plant to operate at full capacity and commercially for another year without carbon emissions, while the second plant continued commercial operation normally throughout this time to provide environmentally friendly electricity.

The work teams completed the loading of fuel at the third station in Barakah after the issuance of the plant’s operating license from the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, which will authorize the Nawah Energy Company of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and responsible for operating and maintaining the four Barakah plants, to operate the plant for the next sixty years, and after the completion of loading Fuel The specialized work team has begun preparing for the start of operating the plant's reactor, and applying the lessons learned from the same process in the first station in 2020 and the second station in 2021, while the main construction works have been completed in the fourth station.

By 2030, Barakah plants will contribute 25% of the UAE's international commitments to reduce carbon emissions, making it an essential component of the country's strategy to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

The latest data in the UAE indicates that the peak demand for electricity reaches more than 15,000 megawatts3, while the four Barakah plants can produce up to 5,600 megawatts of environmentally friendly electricity around the clock, which is equivalent to 40% of this demand. With two nuclear plants that produce electricity commercially, the country is making great progress in meeting peak demand through abundant and carbon-free electricity, as Barakah is currently the largest single source of environmentally friendly electricity in the Arab countries.

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