UAE nuclear energy body ENEC launches operating subsidiary

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) announced that it has formed a subsidiary, Nawah Energy Company to operate the UAE’s first nuclear power plant.

Nawah has been mandated to safely operate and maintain units 1 to 4 in Barakah, a statement said.

Nawah will be chaired by Mubadala and ENEC head Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, while the UAE’s minister of tolerance Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi will serve as the company’s vice chairperson.

ENEC board member Mohammed Sahoo Al Suwaidi has been appointed as the acting chief executive officer of Nawah. Al Suwaidi earlier worked with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and served as CEO of GASCO.

“Nawah will safely operate the Units 1 to 4 in Barakah; this enables a higher level of focus in our work and an increased momentum towards the safe and quality-driven construction, commissioning and operations of the four Units in Barakah,” said Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak.

ENEC CEO Mohamed Al Hammadi added: “ENEC will focus on the strategic growth of the nuclear industry across the UAE, its responsibilities as project owner of Barakah and shareholder of Nawah, as well as the safe and quality-driven delivery and commissioning of the Barakah project.”

Nawah will now be responsible to continue the process of obtaining the approval of the operating licenses from the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation to operate Units 1 to 4 in Barakah.

In March 2015, ENEC filed the operating license application for units 1 and 2 on behalf of its operating subsidiary.

Read: UAE’s ENEC says first unit of nuclear plant 75% complete

Al Suwaidi said: “Our vision for Nawah is to become a globally recognised leading nuclear energy utility. Safety is the overriding priority and is embedded within the organisation to ensure the operation and management decisions of our plants are guided by a healthy and robust safety culture.”

The four units of the Barakah nuclear plant will be housed in two plants with a combined capacity of approximately 5600MW.

The first 1,400 MW unit is scheduled for completion in 2017 and additional units will follow at twelve monthly intervals. The fourth and final unit is set to begin commercial operations in 2020, pending regulatory reviews and licensing.

Upon completion, the UAE’s nuclear programme will provide approximately 25 per cent of the country’s electricity needs, saving up to 12 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.