The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) has safely and successfully energised the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant?s Unit 3 main power transformer and gas insulated bus (GIB), an important step in the continued testing and commissioning of the plant
The construction of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant?s Unit 3 is underway at the Al Dhafra of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
In addition to the main transformer and GIB, Unit 3?s auxiliary power transformers and excitation transformer were energised safely and successfully in normal operating configuration.
Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company (TRANSCO) supported and approved this work, which took place approximately one year after the completion of similar work on Unit 2, and two years after the completion of the same work on Unit 1.
?I am proud of the continued progress being made at Unit 3 of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant. We have maintained our track record of safety and efficiency with the successful energisation of the unit?s transformers, and we continue to establish Barakah as the benchmark for new nuclear construction projects worldwide,? said Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO of ENEC. ?This construction milestone was achieved as a result of our extensive collaboration with our prime contractor and joint venture partner, the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), as well as expert teams from Nawah Energy Company and Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company.?
The testing and commissioning teams will begin preparing for the commencement of Hot Functional Testing (HFT) at Unit 3, implementing the lessons learned during their testing of Units 1 and 2.
HFT takes place over several weeks and consists of almost 200 individual and integrated tests performed on major systems to check their performance under normal operational conditions, without the presence of nuclear fuel assemblies in the reactor vessel.
The latest construction completion percentages of Barakah plant show that Unit 2 stands at 95 per cent, Unit 3 is more than 91 per cent, and Unit 4 is more than 82 per cent, while the overall construction completion percentage is more than 93 per cent.
The construction of Unit 1 has been completed, and it is undergoing commissioning and testing, prior to regulatory review and receipt of the operating license from the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR).
