UAE’s fourth nuclear reactor to start operations in March

Wam

• Barakah in UAE has four reactors
• Final one to power up in March
• Plant cost $32bn

The fourth and final reactor at the UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in Abu Dhabi will start operating next month.

Hamad Al Kaabi, the UAE’s permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the announcement on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in Dubai on Tuesday.

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Work on the fourth reactor was completed in December, just weeks after the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation issued an operating licence. 

Once operational, Unit 4 is intended to enable the plant to generate 25 percent of the UAE’s electricity needs around the clock for the next 60 years.

Located 53km from the city of Ruwais, the $32 billion Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant has been developed by Barakah One – a joint venture between Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and Korea Electric Power Corporation.

The UAE was one of 21 countries to pledge to treble global nuclear capacity by 2050 during the Cop28 climate summit in Dubai.

However, Francesco La Camera, director-general of Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency, told AGBI in December that the significance of nuclear power in fighting climate change had been overstated.

The International Energy Agency has also highlighted nuclear power’s long lead times, high upfront costs and “often poor record of on-time delivery”.