The Ministry of Energy in United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced the first of four nuclear reactors in the country will “definitely” operate in 2018.
Suhail Al-Mazroui, the Minister of Energy, told in a press conference on September 25 that they are trying to open the first nuclear reactor in UAE as soon as possible while being safe in accordance with all the regulators.
“We can say that next year is definitely going to be the year for opening the first nuclear reactor, we are trying to do it as fast as possible, but at the same time we have to be 100 per cent safe, 100 per cent in accordance with all the regulators,” Khaleej Times has quoted Al-Mazroui.
However, the Minister did not give an exact date on the nuclear reactor’s first operation.
The first reactor is already 96 percent complete and is located in the Barakah plant in Al Dhafra, which is the world’s largest single nuclear project.
Meanwhile, the second power plant is 86 percent complete, the third one is 76 percent complete, and the fourth one is 54 percent complete.
“For a country that never done a nuclear project, I think to be almost on time, with a six months delay, is a remarkable achievement,” Al-Mazroui said.
According to the Minister, all four reactors will have the total capacity of 5,600 megawatts of electricity.
The reactors will be interlinked locally and with the GCC network, Al-Mazroui added
He also said UAE’s nuclear strategy in energy consumption is a strategic choice for the country since some parts of the world are transitioning towards clean and renewable energy.
“We had to choose between the different options and we went with the nuclear programme that will contribute to 24-25 per cent of our base-load in 2021. It will contribute to the overall target of 2050 of the 50 per cent green clean energy of which will be solar and nuclear,” Al-Mazroui said.
Source: Khaleej Times
Photo credit: Wam
