Two more plants at the UAE facility are in the final stages of commissioning Unit 2 at the Barakah nuclear power statin has begun commercial operation. Courtesy Enec. Unit 2 at the Barakah nuclear power station in the United Arab Emirates has begun commercial operation, adding 1,400 MW of electricity to the national grid and bringing the total produced by Units 1 and 2 at the four-unt facility to 2,800 MW.

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) said Barakah is now half way towards its goal of providing 25% of the UAE’s electricity needs through clean electricity whilst rapidly decarbonising the nation’s power sector.

Unit 2 joins Unit 1, which began commercial operation in April 2021. Construction of Unit 2 began in April 2013.

Enec said Units 3 and 4 are in the final stages of commissioning, with Unit 3 construction already complete and now undergoing operational readiness preparations, and Unit 4 in the final stages of construction completion.

In January, Enec chief executive officer Mohammed al-Hammadi said Unit 3 would start operations in late 2022.

The development of the Barakah station as a whole is now more than 96% complete, having steadily progressed since construction started in 2012.

Barakah, in the Al Dhafra region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, is the first commercial nuclear station in the Arab world and one of the largest in the world, with four APR-1400 units supplied by South Korea.

Enec said Barakah significantly boosts the UAE’s energy security through domestic clean electricity generation, By 2025, the station will be responsible for generating more than 85% of Abu Dhabi Emirate’s clean electricity making it the biggest contributor to reducing Abu Dhabi’s carbon emissions by 50% by the middle of the decade.