Unit 2 of Barakah nuclear energy plant connects to UAE’s transmission grid

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) has announced that its operations and maintenance subsidiary, Nawah Energy Company (Nawah), has connected Unit 2 of the Barakah nuclear energy plant to the UAE grid.

Following the start-up of Unit 2 last month, the Barakah plant became the first multi-unit operating nuclear plant in the UAE and Arab world.

Read: UAE’s ENEC announces start-up of Unit 2 of Barakah nuclear power plant

After its connection, Unit 2 is in preparation to adding a further 1,400MW of clean electricity capacity to the UAE grid, with the first megawatts of emissions-free electricity from this unit now being dispatched to businesses, schools and homes, Abu Dhabi Government Media Office reported.

@ENEC_UAE has connected Unit 2 of Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant to the UAE power grid two weeks after start-up of the reactor was completed. Unit 2 will add a further 1,400MW of clean electricity to the grid when at full capacity. pic.twitter.com/me4ZpDQ6X3

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) September 14, 2021

This takes ENEC and its subsidiaries closer to the half-way mark of its goal to supply up to a quarter of the country’s electricity needs 24/7, while driving reductions in carbon emissions, a statement said.

During the grid connection, the Unit 2 generator was integrated and synchronised with the requirements of the UAE’s national electricity transmission grid, ahead of the start of commercial operations. With the integration and connection complete, Unit 2’s nuclear operators will begin the process of gradually raising the power levels of the reactor, known as Power Ascension Testing (PAT). Once the process is completed, Unit 2 will deliver thousands of additional megawatts of clean baseload electricity.

This testing will be conducted under the oversight of the UAE’s independent nuclear regulator, FANR, which has now conducted more than 335 inspections since the start of Barakah’s development. This is in addition to over 42 missions and assessments by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), the statement added.

Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant is the Arab world’s only multi-unit nuclear energy plant, helping to produce safe, clean and abundant energy for the UAE while cutting carbon emissions and contributing to the decarbonisation of the UAE’s energy sector.

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) September 14, 2021

The Nawah teams at Barakah have worked with the Abu Dhabi Transmission and Dispatch Company (TRANSCO), a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), who constructed the overhead lines to connect the plant to the Abu Dhabi grid – ensuring the power generated at Barakah is safely delivered to consumers nationwide.

Unit 1 of the plant is now producing clean electricity around the clock while Units 3 and 4 are in the final stages of commissioning, at 95 per cent and 91 per cent completion respectively. The development of the Barakah plant as a whole is now more than 96 per cent complete. When fully operational, the plant will produce 5.6 gigawatts of free carbon electricity.