ABU DHABI 18 February 2020: The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), the UAE’s independent nuclear regulator, yesterday announced it has granted Nawah Energy Company the operating licence for Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, making the UAE the first country in the Arab region to operate a nuclear power plant.
FANR said it also authorised Nawah to commission and operate Unit 1 of the nuclear power plant located in Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi, under a 60-year licence.
Nawah is the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation’s subsidiary responsible for operation of the nuclear power plant, said Wam.
The decision to issue the operating licence is a culmination of efforts made by FANR since it received an operating licence application from ENEC, on behalf of Nawah, in 2015. FANR followed a systematic review process that included a thorough assessment of the application documentation, conducting robust regulatory oversight and inspections.
Thorough Review
The assessment included reviewing the plant’s layout design and the analysis of the site’s location in terms of geography and demography. It also included the reactor design, cooling systems, security arrangements, emergency preparedness, radioactive waste management and other technical aspects.
FANR also assessed Nawah’s organisational and manpower readiness with all the required processes and procedures to ensure the safety and security of nuclear power plant.
The UAE’s independent nuclear regulator reviewed the 14,000-page operating licence application, conducted more than 185 inspections and requested approximately 2,000 additional pieces of information on various matters related to reactor design, safety and other issues to ensure the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant’s complete compliance with all regulatory requirements.
“Today’s announcement is another milestone for the UAE, culminating efforts of 12 years towards the development of the UAE Nuclear Energy Programme to which FANR played a significant role to turn this vision into reality,” said Ambassador Hamad Al Kaabi, UAE Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, and Deputy Chairman of the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.
“The UAE Nuclear Energy Programme and its regulatory framework adhere to the Safety Standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, and the international best practices, where FANR ensured its implementation during the construction of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.
Commissioning to start
Following the issuance of the operating license for Unit 1, Nawah will undertake a period of commissioning to prepare for the commercial operation of during which FANR will conduct around-the-clock inspections, using its resident inspectors located at the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in addition to deploying other inspectors, to ensure the Fuel Load and Power Accession processes are completed according to regulatory requirements.
“The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation played an indispensable role in regulating the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant since 2009 and especially after we received the operating licence application for Unit 1 in 2015. We conducted extensive reviews and robust inspections to ensure it fulfils our regulatory requirements and thus is ready to operate safely. FANR also prepared for the operations phase which include putting all arrangements in place to conduct regulatory oversight and necessary inspections to ensure protection of the community and environment when the unit 1 starts operating,” said Christer Viktorsson, FANR Director-General.
To ensure implementing the highest international standards of nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation, the UAE received in the past decade 11 major peer review missions from the IAEA to review and assess various aspects from nuclear infrastructure, the legal and regulatory system, nuclear safety, nuclear security, emergency preparedness and non-proliferation. The reports from the missions of the IAEA are publicly available.
One of the principles of the nuclear policy is transparency to which the UAE government has been committed to by adhering to international conventions and agreements such the IAEA’s Safeguard Agreement and its Additional Protocol and the Convention on Nuclear Safety and other instruments. Such commitments ensure the programme is designed for peaceful purposes and in line with national and international laws.
The UAE is currently building four units at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, and the project’s overall construction rate is more than 93 percent as follows: Unit 1: completed; Unit 2: 95 percent; Unit 3: 92 percent; Unit 4: 83 percent.
Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, as well as the US–UAE 123 Agreement for Peaceful Civilian Nuclear Energy Cooperation.
The Barakah plant will produce electricity that will cover 25 percent of the UAE’s energy needs and prevent the emission of around 21 million tonnes of carbon annually.
The plant is based on the third generation APR1400 nuclear power reactor designed by the Korean Electric Power Corporation, Kepco. The combined production capacity of its four units amounts to 5,600 megawatts, with each unit generating 1,400 megawatts of energy.
