Barakah nuclear plant trail run ends in success

The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in the United Arab Emirates, the first nuclear power plant exported by South Korea, has started trial operations of a nuclear reactor. United Arab Emirates leaders hailed the start-up as “great success” as the plant is the nation’s first power plant.

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENCE) announced Saturday that it successfully began the first trial run after completing comprehensive tests with Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). It said the reactor produced heat to boil water into steam, which then turned turbine blades to generate electricity, adding that it would become the first reactor connected to the United Arab Emirates’ power grid.

UAE Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum showed his interest on Sunday in the launch in a tweet, saying that the aim is to operate all four reactors to meet a quarter of the nation’s energy needs safely and stably.

The Barakah plant project builds four new third-generation reactors called APR1400 in Barakah near Abu Dhabi. The KEPCO consortium won the bid in December 2009 roughly at 18.6 billion dollars.

“Today marks a milestone in the history of the UAE,” said ENEC CEO Mohamed Al Hammadi in a statement, attributing the success to the hard work of the UAE government and partners from South Korea.


Hyun-Seok Lim lhs@donga.com