Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation installs

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, ENEC, completed the installation of the condenser for Unit 4 of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, located in the western region of Abu Dhabi.

The move marks the final condenser installation at the UAE’s first nuclear power plant.

Made in South Korea and transported to Barakah, the condenser features three sections, each measuring 27m in length and weighing 700 metric tonnes, the equivalent of approximately two Airbus A380 jets.

The three sections were safely assembled in the open, next to the turbine building of Unit 4, using a system of hydraulic jacks and complex winches and rollers.

In a nuclear reactor, nuclear fission creates heat, which turns water into steam. The pressure of the steam turns a turbine, which then spins the generator that produces electricity. The condenser cools the steam back into water, allowing the process to be repeated continuously.

The Barakah condensers are specifically modified according to the environmental conditions of the Arabian Gulf, the ENEC said.

As per the regulations set by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, the temperature of the discharge water must not be more than 5?C above the ambient temperature of the Gulf.

The condenser’s 85,000 titanium and super stainless steel tubes will have a volume of 6,000 m3 of seawater passing through them per minute when the plant begins to generate electricity.

"The successful installation of the condenser is a major milestone in the construction of the fourth unit at the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant," said Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO of ENEC.

"With similar work being completed for Units 1, 2 and 3 in the beginning of 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively, this clearly demonstrated the smooth sequencing of construction, proving the benefits of building four identical nuclear units simultaneously. The Barakah plant now has four of the region’s largest condensers safely and effectively installed," he added.

Construction works at the Unit 4 turbine building will be completed over the next few months. Construction at the unit started in 2015 and is currently more than 38 percent complete.

Overall, the construction of units 1 to 4 is now around 76 percent complete, ENEC said.

The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant is scheduled to be completed in 2020, with construction having started in 2012.

A consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation, Kepco, is building the four 1,400 MW nuclear reactors at the plant.

With all the four reactors starting production, the facility will deliver up to 25 percent of the UAE’s electricity needs and save up to 12 million tonnes in carbon emissions every year.