Arab World's First Nuke Plant Connects to Power Grid

UAE plant went live 2 week ago
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 19, 2020 1:56 PM CDT
Arab World's First Nuke Plant Connects to Power Grid
In this undated photograph published by the United Arab Emirates' state-run WAM news agency, employees work at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the UAE's far western desert.   (WAM via AP)

A nuclear power plant in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates has been connected to the country's power grid, authorities said Wednesday. The Barakah nuclear power plant in the Emirates’ far western desert near the border with Saudi Arabia began sending out electricity, according to the state-run WAM news agency. WAM published a photograph of employees working inside the plant's control room, though no independent media was there to witness the event. On July 31, the plant’s first reactor reached what scientists called its "first criticality." That’s when the nuclear chain reaction within the reactor is self-sustaining. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency and other regulatory bodies have seen and assessed the site.

The plant has been considered a target by Yemen's rival Houthi rebels since Dec. 2017. They claimed then, without offering evidence, to have fired a cruise missile at it, something immediately denied by the UAE. Plans call for four reactors to be operating at Barakah, which authorities say will provide some 25% of all energy needs in this OPEC-member nation. The $20 billion plant was built by the Emirates with the help of South Korea. It’s the first nuclear power plant on the Arabian Peninsula. The US has praised the UAE’s nuclear program for agreeing never to acquire enrichment or reprocessing capabilities, which prevents it from being able to make weapons-grade uranium, the AP reports.

(More United Arab Emirates stories.)

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