The plant is the first commercial hub in the Arab world.
Rabat – Nuclear regulator in the UAE, the Federal Authority for Nuclear Energy, gave green light to the operator of the first reactor at the Barakah nuclear power plant, on Monday, the National reported.
With the license, the plant makes the UAE the first Gulf country to launch such a project. The plant is also the first of its kind in the Arab world.
The UAE-based news outlet said that the construction is a decade-long project
The Gulf country expressed satisfaction with the milestone initiative, emphasizing that, when at full capacity it will cover 25% of the country’s energy needs.
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme commander of the Armed Forces Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed said that the granting of the license “marks a new chapter in our journey for the development of peaceful nuclear energy.”
He said that his country is preparing for the next 50 years to preserve its needs.
“Our biggest strength is national talent,” he said.
The plant, still under development, is one of the four reactors that the country plans to run to produce energy-related substances to apply its needs. The reactors have a total capacity of 5,600 megawatts.
The first plant, Barakah, is ready to load “fuel and ramp up to full commercial operation within several months,” Bloomberg reported.
The US media outlet said that the plant was built and will be run through a joint venture with Korea Electric Power Corp.
The total cost of the plants is estimated at $25 billion.
Hamad Al Kaabi, UAE Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said during the announcement: “We would like to officially announce the conclusion of our work to review the operating license application for Unit 1 after verifying the unit meets all of FANR’s operating license requirements at stated by UAE laws.”
