Unit 3 of UAE’s Barakah plant starts commercial operations

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) has announced the start of commercial operations of Unit 3 of the Barakah nuclear energy plant.

The commencement of operations will add an additional 1,400 megawatts (MW) of zero-carbon emission electricity capacity, bringing the total production from the three units to up to 4,200MW of clean electricity for the UAE national grid.

Unit 3 of @ENEC_UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in #AbuDhabi, has commenced commercial operations, joining Units 1 and 2 to produce clean electricity for the emirate during the UAE’s Year of Sustainability and significantly contributing to UAE Net Zero by 2050 targets. pic.twitter.com/G3pPxOxxaV

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) February 24, 2023

Unit 3 of the Barakah Plant, located in the Al Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi, has completed the process from fuel load to commercial operations more than four months faster than Unit 2, and over five months faster than Unit 1.

Read: UAE: Unit 2 of Barakah nuclear energy plant starts commercial operations

Read: Unit 1 of UAE’s Barakah Plant starts commercial operations

One unit of the energy plant remains to be completed, post which it will deliver up to 25 per cent of the UAE’s electricity demands.

The Barakah plant has already powered more than 80 per cent of the emirate of Abu Dhabi’s clean electricity consumption in December 2022, Abu Dhabi Media Office reported.

“In the Year of Sustainability for the UAE, we are proud to take the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program another step forward with Unit 3 beginning commercial operations,” said Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, managing director and chief executive officer of ENEC.

“This has been achieved less than a year after successfully starting commercial operations for Unit 2.”

“We look forward to showcasing just how critical nuclear is in tackling climate change, using proven solutions available today, at COP28 in the UAE in November.”

The commercial operations of Unit 3 were commenced with the support of EWEC and the Abu Dhabi Transmission and Dispatch Company (TRANSCO).

“Today we celebrate an important day for the delivery of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant project with the commercial operations of Unit 3, and we reaffirm our commitment to clean electricity generation for the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) as per the Power Purchase Agreement signed in 2016,” added Nasser Al Nasseri, chief executive officer of Barakah One Company.

An ENEC subsidiary, Barakah One Company is in charge of representing the financial and commercial interests of the plant project.

The Barakah plant is spearheading UAE decarbonisation efforts by preventing millions of tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

When fully operational, the plant will prevent 22.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year, and will free up billions of dirhams of natural gas annually that would have otherwise been used for electricity generation.