POWER December 2021 - S16

POWER AWARDS
December 2021
Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, United Arab Emirates
N
uclear power was added to the
United Arab Emirates' (UAE's) energy
mix this year with the first
of four units at the Barakah site in the
Al Dhafra region of the Emirate of Abu
Dhabi on the Arabian Gulf, approximately
53 kilometers west-southwest of the
city of Ruwais, placed in commercial
operation. When all four reactors are operational, nuclear
power is forecast to supply about 25% of the country's
electricity needs.
The Barakah plant utilizes Korea Electric Power Corp.'s
(KEPCO's) Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400) design.
The APR1400 is a pressurized water reactor that has two
coolant loops with vertical U-tube steam generators that include
integral economizers. The reactor core has 241 fuel assemblies
and the unit is designed to operate on an 18-month
refueling cycle, which is based mainly on the type of fuel
used in the reactor.
Barakah Unit 1 was successfully connected to the national
power grid on Aug. 19, 2020, marking the first time electricity
generated by nuclear power was delivered to consumers in the
UAE. Grid synchronization did not mean the end of the project,
however; Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. (ENEC) continued to
follow international best practices to confirm safe reactor operation
including power ascension testing and other verifications.
On Dec. 7, 2020, Unit 1 achieved 100% power output. At 1,400
MW, it is the largest single generator of electricity in the UAE.
Fuqing Unit 5, China
C
Courtesy: Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp.
Barakah Unit 1 officially commenced commercial operation on
April 1, 2021.
Meanwhile, work continues on Units 2, 3, and 4. Unit 2
achieved a major milestone on Aug. 28, 2021, when it was
connected to the national power grid, making Barakah the first
multi-unit operating nuclear plant in the Arab World. Units 3
and 4 are progressing nicely, benefitting from the experience
and lessons learned during the construction of Units 1 and 2.
Units 3 and 4 were reportedly about 95% and 91% complete,
respectively, at the end of August. Notably, in June, ENEC and
KEPCO reported four years and more than 100 million safe
man-hours without a lost-time injury at the Barakah site. ENEC
and KEPCO's accomplishments on the Barakah project make it
a worthy POWER Top Plant award winner. ■
hina is making nuclear power the
foundation of its power generation
sector, building more new nuclear
plants than any other country while also
making a concerted effort to export its
own reactor technology. The World Nuclear
Association (WNA) in September of this
year reported China has 18 reactors under
construction-representing more than 17 GW of generation capacity-adding
to the 51 reactors (and about 50 GW of capacity)
already in service.
Nuclear power has increased emphasis in China as the country
tries to improve its emissions profile. China is the world's
leading emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2
-more than double that of the
), owing to its longtime
reliance on coal-fired power, and accounts for as much as 30%
of worldwide emissions of CO2
U.S, the world's second-ranking emitter.
Chinese officials have made development of nuclear technology,
and its export, one of 16 major national science and
technology projects, according to the WNA. The initiative to
expand nuclear power is led by China National Nuclear Corp.
(CNNC) and China General Nuclear Power Group, along with
State Power Investment Corp., via that group's State Nuclear
Power Technology Corp.
A key to China's ambitions is deployment of the world's first
pilot project to use the country's indigenous third-generation
nuclear power technology, Hualong One, also known as the
HPR1000. The Hualong One, in use since January 2021 at Unit
16
Courtesy: China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC)
5 of the Fuqing plant in Fujian province, utilizes 177 fuel assemblies
as reactor cores to reduce its core power density,
while its design also is improving the level of reactor safety, according
to CNNC, which said the installed generation capacity
of each Hualong One unit can reach nearly 1,200 MWe. Unit 5
includes three ZH-65-type steam generators, each more than
21 meters in length and weighing 365 metric tons. The generators
were independently designed by the China Nuclear Power
Institute and manufactured by Dongfang Electric Corp.
CNNC said operation of a Hualong One reactor makes China
the fourth country to bring indigenous Generation III nuclear
power technology to market, following the U.S., France,
and Russia. ■
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POWER December 2021

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