Barakah nuclear power plant

Barakah Nuclear Power Plant
Yukiya Amano visited the Barakah construction site in 2013.
Official name محطة براكة للطاقة النووية
Country United Arab Emirates
Location Approx. 50 km west of Ruwais
Coordinates 23°58′N 52°14′E / 23.967°N 52.233°E / 23.967; 52.233Coordinates: 23°58′N 52°14′E / 23.967°N 52.233°E / 23.967; 52.233
Status Under construction
Construction began Unit 1: July 19, 2012
Unit 2: April 16, 2013
Unit 3: September 24, 2014
Unit 4: July 30, 2015
Commission date Expected 2018
Construction cost $24.4 billion USD
Owner(s) ENEC
Nuclear power station
Reactor type PWR
Reactor supplier KEPCO
Cooling source Persian Gulf
Power generation
Make and model APR-1400
Units under const. 4 × 1345 MW
Thermal capacity 4 × 3983 MWth
Nameplate capacity 5380 MW (after completion)

The Barakah nuclear power plant is the United Arab Emirates's first nuclear power station. It is still under construction, and four APR-1400 nuclear reactors are planned to start operation successively between 2018 and 2020. The site is on UAE's Persian Gulf coastline between the sea and the E11 highway, about 50 km west of Ruwais.

History

In December 2009, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) awarded a coalition led by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) a $20 billion bid to build the first nuclear power plant in the UAE. Barakah was chosen as the site to build four APR-1400 nuclear reactors successively, with the first scheduled to start supplying electricity in 2017.[1][2]

The plant's ground-breaking ceremony was held on 14 March 2011, including Korean President Lee Myung-bak.[3] Construction of the first unit was begun in the afternoon of 18 July 2012,[4][5] ahead of its scheduled date in late 2012. This happened despite delays being mooted in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.[6] In May 2013 construction started on the second unit, which is expected to take five years.[7] The first safety-related concrete was poured for Unit 3 in September 2014.[8] Unit 4 started construction in September 2015.[9][10]

In 2011 Bloomberg reported that following detailed finance agreements, the build cost was put at $30 billion: $10 billion equity, $10 billion export-credit agency debt, and $10 billion from bank and sovereign debt. South Korea may earn a further $20 billion from operation, maintenance and fuel supply contracts.[11] A later Bloomberg report indicates the price as $25 billion.[12]

In 2014 the Barakah 1 reactor vessel was delivered onsite and site preparation works for Barakah 3 and 4 started.[13][14] Meanwhile, the concrete-and-steel reactor containment building for Barakah 1 was completed in January 2015.[9]

In March 2015 ENEC applied to FANR for operating licences for Units 1 and 2. The schedule is still for operation of Unit 1 starting in 2017, with the remaining units following annually, so Unit 4 is set to reach commercial operations in 2020.[15]

In September 2015 first concrete was poured for Unit 4. More than 18,000 staff were then working on the construction of all 4 units.[16]

In December 2017 the rebel Houthis group claimed to have fired a cruise missile in the direction of the Barakah plant, but the Emirati authorities said that no missiles had actually reached the UAE.[17]

As of March 22nd the project's total cost was refined to $24.4 billion to complete. Startup of Unit 1 has been delayed to late 2018 to complete operator training in accordance with international standards.[18]

UnitTypeConstruction startOperation start
(scheduled)		Notes
Barakah 1APR-140019 July 20122019 [19][20][21]
Barakah 2APR-140016 April 20132019 [22][21]
Barakah 3APR-140024 Sept 20142020 [23][21]
Barakah 4APR-140030 July 20152021 [24][21]

Construction

As of April 11th, 2018:

  • Unit 1 is 100% complete and undergoing comprehensive reviews before commencing operations later in 2018.
  • Unit 2 is 92% complete.
  • Unit 3 is 81% complete.
  • Unit 4 is 67% complete.

Overall construction completion rate for the entire plant is at 87%.[25]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "UAE Nuclear Power Plants". BBC News. 27 December 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  2. ↑ "Quarter of UAE's power from nuclear energy by 2020". Emirates 24/7. Dubai Media. March 17, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  3. ↑ "Pres. Lee Attends Groundbreaking Ceremony for UAE's Nuclear Plant". Arirang TV. March 14, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  4. ↑ "Construction under way at Barakah". World Nuclear News. July 19, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
  5. ↑ "ENEC Starts Construction of UAE's First Nuclear Energy Plant". Gulfnews. July 20, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
  6. ↑ "UAE's Nuclear Watchdog Says To Review Atomic Energy Plans". Zawya Dow Jones. March 22, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  7. ↑ "UAE pours first concrete for Barakah 2". Nuclear Engineering International. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Construction starts on third Barakah unit". World Nuclear News. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates". power-technology. 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "UAE's fourth power reactor under construction". World Nuclear News. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  11. ↑ Ayesha Daya and Stefania Bianchi (24 November 2011). "U.A.E.'s Nuclear Power Program Said to Cost $30 Billion". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  12. ↑ Sharif, Matthew Martin Arif. "Abu Dhabi Said to Revive Debt Plan for First Nuclear Plant". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  13. ↑ "Barakah 1 reactor vessel delivered". World Nuclear News. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Work to start on third and fourth Barakah units". World Nuclear News. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "UAE's ENEC submits plan to run first two nuclear reactors". Arabian Business. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  16. ↑ "UAE's fourth power reactor under construction". World Nuclear News. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  17. ↑ "UPDATE 1-Yemen's Houthi group says fires missile toward Abu Dhabi nuclear reactor". Reuters. 3 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  18. ↑ "Arab world's first nuclear reactor delayed again over training". nasdaq. March 22, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Barakah 1". Power Reactor Information System (PRIS). International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 21 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  20. ↑ "Nuclear Power in the United Arab Emirates". Information Papers: Country Briefings. World Nuclear Association (WNA). July 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Major components installed at final Barakah unit". World Nuclear News. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  22. ↑ "Barakah 2". PRIS. IAEA. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  23. ↑ "Barakah 3". PRIS. IAEA. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  24. ↑ "Barakah 4". PRIS. IAEA. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  25. ↑ Reactor dome fitted to Abu Dhabi's final nuclear plant
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