Enec said connection was safely and successfully completed by its operations and maintenance subsidiary, Nawah Energy Company, through collaboration with Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company (Transco).
Enec said the milestone takes the company and its subsidiaries another step 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 – the leading cause of climate change.
With grid connection complete, Unit 2’s operators will now begin the process of gradually raising the power levels of the reactor, known as power ascension testing. Enec said all of the lessons learned from Unit 1 connection have been integrated as part of Nawah’s commitment to operating excellence.
Grid connection follows the announcement late last month that Unit 2 had started up – less than five months after the identical Unit 1 became the first commercial reactor in the Arab world to begin full operation. Construction of Unit 1 began in 2012.
In March, Nawah said it had completed fuel loading at Unit 2. Construction of the plant began in April 2013 and was completed in July 2020.
The Barakah nuclear station, in the Al Dhafra region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, is one of the largest nuclear energy new-build projects in the world, with four APR-1400 units supplied by South Korea.
Unit 1 at Barakah is producing thousands of megawatts of electricity around the clock. Units 3 and 4 are in the final stages of commissioning at 95% and 91% complete respectively. The development of the Barakah station as a whole is now more than 96% complete.