The United Arab Emirates has shown it is possible to build a new civilian nuclear energy programme from scratch within little more than a decade. Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, describes the significance of this feat for the global nuclear industry.

Barakah unit 1 entered commercial operation today, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation has announced. The unit, which is operated by Nawah Energy Company, has been the single largest electricity generator in the UAE since reaching 100% power in early December. ENEC said the 1400-megawatt unit, which is in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi, is now providing "constant, reliable and sustainable electricity around the clock". As a result, ENEC says it is "now leading the largest decarbonisation effort of any industry in the UAE to date". 

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on research & development and technology exchange related to the operation of Korean-designed APR1400 reactors. South Korea's first APR1400 unit entered commercial operation in December 2015, while four such reactors are due to start up in the UAE by 2023.

The process of loading 241 fuel assemblies into the core of unit 2 at the Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE has begun, operator Nawah Energy Company has announced. The move follows the issuance last week by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation of the operating licence for the second of four Korean-designed APR1400 units at the site.

The UAE Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation has today issued an operating licence for Barakah unit 2 to the plant's operator, Nawah Energy Company. Nawah will now begin the commissioning of the Arab world's second nuclear power reactor.

As policymakers grapple with the twin challenges of climate change and a post-COVID economic recovery, the benefits of nuclear power are clearer than ever, but the industry still has some way to go in addressing perceptions of its alleged drawbacks with cost, safety and radioactive waste. This was the overriding message of the three panellists in a webinar held last week by Utilities Middle East in partnership with Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Barakah unit 1 has reached 100% power and is now generating 1400 MW of electricity, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation has announced today. The unit, which is operated by Nawah Energy Company, is now the single largest power generator in the UAE and is due to begin commercial operations early next year.

The UAE's Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation and Saudi Arabia's Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission have agreed to cooperate in nuclear and radiation regulatory matters, and to form topical working groups. The agreement follows the signing of a bilateral accord on cooperation in nuclear energy between the two countries in 2019.

The United Arab Emirates' world records in the development of solar power do not distract from an ambition to expand its use of nuclear energy to help facilitate the transition to a clean economy, UAE Minister of Energy Suhail Mohammed Faraj Al Mazroui said yesterday. In his address to the 11th Clean Energy Ministerial, the minister explained the progress the UAE has made with its Energy Strategy 2050.

Unit 1 of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the Al Dhafrah region of Abu Dhabi has been connected to the grid and has begun supplying electricity to the UAE. The South Korean-supplied APR1400 is expected to enter full commercial operation later this year.

Nawah Energy Company has started up unit 1 of the Barakah nuclear power plant, located in the Al Dhafrah region of Abu Dhabi. Nawah is the joint venture nuclear operations and maintenance subsidiary of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and the Korea Electric Power Corporation. The APR1400 attained a sustained chain reaction for the first time early yesterday morning and is expected to enter commercial operation later this year.

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation has completed the construction of unit 2 of the Barakah nuclear power plant. The unit, which is in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi, has been officially handed over to ENEC subsidiary Nawah Energy Company, which can now start preparations to obtain an operating licence for the unit from the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.