The UAE’s first nuclear power plant, at Barakah in the Western Region, is due to start operations next year, a major shift in the country’s energy mix. Nuclear developers in the US were amazed, and envious, that the UAE could go from nothing to a functioning nuclear power plant within 10 years. Recent nuclear plants in the US, France and Finland have been bedevilled by delays, redesigns, regulatory and legal challenges, and environmentalist opposition. Nuclear plants have longer construction times than renewable or gas power and must pay for fuel and, ultimately, waste disposal that hydroelectric, solar and wind energy facilities do not require. The overall cost per unit of electricity from Barakah is likely to be above that for a gas or coal-fired power plant, even at international fuel prices but, critically, it does not emit greenhouse gases during operation.
The National (UAE) 29th Oct 2017 read more »
