The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) has announced that following the start-up of Unit 2 of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant last month, its operations and maintenance subsidiary, Nawah Energy Company, has safely and successfully connected the unit to the UAE grid, delivering the first megawatts of carbon-free electricity from the second of the four units at the Barakah Plant.

During grid connection, the Unit 2 generator was integrated and synchronised with the requirements of the UAE’s national electricity transmission grid, ahead of the start of commercial operations.

With the integration and connection complete, Unit 2’s nuclear operators will begin the process of gradually raising the power levels of the reactor, known as Power Ascension Testing (PAT), said Enec.

Unit 2 is now all set to add a further 1,400 MW of clean electricity capacity to the UAE grid, with the first megawatts of emissions-free electricity from this unit now being dispatched to businesses, schools and homes.

On the project’s progress, Enec said Unit 1 has already started producing thousands of megawatts of clean electricity around the clock, while Unit 3 and 4 are in the final stages of commissioning, taking cue from the experience and lessons learned during the construction of the first two units. The development of the Barakah Plant as a whole is now more than 96 per cent complete. When fully operational, the plant will produce 5.6 gigawatts of free carbon electricity for more than 60 years to come, said Enec.

The Nawah teams at Barakah have worked closely with the Abu Dhabi Transmission and Dispatch Company (Transco), a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), which constructed the overhead lines to connect the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant to the Abu Dhabi grid – ensuring the power generated at Barakah is safely, securely and reliably delivered to consumers across the UAE.