S. Korean-built nuclear reactor successfully connects to UAE power grid

The fourth unit of the South Korean-built Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates has been successfully connected to the Middle East nation's power transmission grid, South Korea's state-run utility company said Sunday, Azernews reports, citing Yonhap.

The Unit 4 plant began operations earlier this month and delivered the first megawatts of carbon-free electricity Saturday, according to the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO).

Its commercial operation is expected to begin this year after further tests, and Unit 4 will add another 1,400 megawatts of zero-carbon emission electricity to the UAE's grid.

The No. 4 unit is one of the four nuclear reactors built in Barakah, 270 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, under a US$20 billion contract won by a KEPCO-led consortium in 2009. The project marked South Korea's first export of a homegrown commercial atomic power plant.

When the four units are in commercial operation, the Barakah plant will produce up to 25 percent of the UAE's electricity needs and is expected to help guarantee the UAE's energy sustainability and achieve its net-zero goals, KEPCO said.

"We've taken a step closer to the successful completion of the UAE reactor project. We will continue to do our best to ensure its success," KEPCO chief Kim Dong-cheol said.

South Korea will continue to expand cooperation in the energy field with the UAE and actively seek to win more nuclear power plant projects from overseas, he added.