‘Barakah Nuclear Plant’s 4th Unit Begins Operating’
The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has announced the successful start-up of the fourth and final unit of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The plant, built by South Korea, is a significant milestone in nuclear energy production.
The Barakah plant, operated by a joint venture between KEPCO and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, reported that the Unit Four reactor has started producing heat for generating electricity through nuclear fission in a stable manner. This achievement marks the completion of South Korea’s first export of a commercial nuclear plant and the first commercial nuclear plant in the Arab region.
Back in 2009, a consortium led by KEPCO secured a 20-billion-U.S. dollar contract to build the Barakah plant, setting the stage for the successful operation of four APR-1400 pressurized water reactors. Each reactor has the capacity to generate up to one-thousand-400 megawatts of clean electricity.
With the fourth unit now operational, it is expected to soon begin commercial operation following the successful launches of the previous three units in April 2021, March 2022, and February 2023, respectively. This development represents a significant step towards meeting clean energy demands in the UAE and further establishing nuclear power as a viable energy source in the region.