As of Jan. 28, the first reactor of the Barakah nuclear power plant is ready to start operating, according to the Nawah Energy Company. The announcement comes after the Atlanta Center of the World Association of Nuclear Operates conducted an operational readiness assessment of the first unit. The first nuclear power plant to be constructed in the UAE, Barakah is expected to cover up to a quarter of the country’s electricity needs once fully operational. The power plant also makes the UAE the first Arab country to produce nuclear energy.

The construction of the power plant falls under the UAE’s Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program, a subset of the country’s Energy Strategy 2050. The primary fuels powering the UAE have historically been oil and natural gas, with a limited supply produced by sustainable sources. The aim of this strategy is to shift that dependency by generating 50 percent of the national energy supply using renewable sources, including nuclear energy, by 2050. The Barakah power plant itself is projected to decrease the annual release of greenhouse gas emissions by 21 million tons — equivalent to taking 3.2 million cars off the roads each year.

The Barakah power plant project was developed by the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) in partnership with the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). The resultant Nawah Energy Company is the subsidiary entrusted with operating the power plant and maintaining its four units.

Mohammed Al Hammadi, the CEO of ENEC, sees the success of the first unit’s assessment as a major milestone for the Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program.

“It provides international recognition that our plant, people and processes meet international start up standards and that the Barakah plant fully aligns to the commitments made in 2008 by the nation of complete operational transparency, and the pursuit of the highest standards of safety, quality and security. We … continue to support Nawah in … gradually [commencing production of] clean, safe and reliable electricity to power the growth of the UAE for the next 60 years,” said Al Hammadi.

Two representatives from the Barakah power plant came to NYU Abu Dhabi in January to give a lecture on the various processes that went into the construction of the power plant for the January Term class Water, Energy, and Food Nexus. Awahnee Mendis, Class of 2021, says the representatives went into depth about some of the priorities of the power plant.

“Security is one of the top, top, main priorities of the Barakah nuclear plant, which is really good,” said Mendis. “They also got … know-how and expertise from Korea when they were first setting up and … they also have a lot of female representation in the Barakah workforce, which is applaudable. We also got a virtual reality tour of the Barakah nuclear power plant … They brought these VR glasses and the whole class got to take a VR tour.”