UAE's nuclear regulatory authority grants license to operate country's second reactor

Dubai — The UAE's Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) has granted a license to operate the second of four reactors that are being developed in the Gulf country to contribute up to 25% of the country's power generation needs, it said March 9.

Fuel loading in the second unit of the Barakah plant in the emirate of Abu Dhabi is expected to take place soon and the testing phase may take roughly a year, Hamad al-Kaabi, FANR's deputy chairman and the UAE Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency told S&P Global Platts.

"During the [testing] process, the reactor will be connected to the network, it will provide electricity at various levels but it is part of that testing program," he said.

The first 1.4 GW nuclear power reactor reached 100% power capacity in December after being connected to the power grid in August. Nawah Energy Co., the operating and maintenance unit of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp., is operating unit 1.

As a whole, construction of the Barakah plant is now more than 95% complete and consists of four reactors, each with a capacity of 1.4 GW.

Commercial start-up

The UAE, which mainly uses gas for power generation, is diversifying its energy mix. It plans to generate half of its energy from clean and renewable energy, including nuclear power, by 2050 and is undertaking various projects to reach this goal. The Gulf country also wants to lower its carbon emissions and free up gas used for power generation for export and other uses.

Preparations for commercial operations of unit 1 are in advanced stages, Kaabi said.

"I expect this year, in the coming weeks or so, we might see a declaration of commercial operations," he said.

Construction of unit 3 is 94% complete and unit 4 is 87% and the applications for the operating licenses have been submitted, he added, declining to provide a timeline for granting licenses to the last two reactors.

Pandemic impact

"We have not been informed about any significant delay of the projected schedule [of completion of construction]," said Kaabi.

"Work on the licensing and the startup of the first two units is not going to affect the construction of the other two units."

The pandemic hasn't significantly affected FANR's operations, he added.

"The work continues. We had to adjust from both sides [regulator and operator], in terms of introducing some additional measures such as remote inspections and relying more on our resident inspectors in certain cases," he said. "Similarly, from their side [the operator], they had to take certain measures to protect the people responsible for commissioning and operation."