The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said Thursday that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has begun commercial operation of the fourth reactor at the South Korean-built Barakah nuclear power plant in the country.
The fourth unit at the plant went into operation earlier in the day after receiving approval from the Middle Eastern nation’s regulatory authority in November last year and completing the insertion of fuel rods in the following month, according to KEPCO.
It is the final unit of the four nuclear reactors built 270 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, under a US$20 billion contract won by a KEPCO-led consortium in 2009.
The project marks South Korea’s first export of a homegrown commercial nuclear power plant.
With all the four units in operation, the Barakah nuclear power plant will be responsible for up to 25 percent of the UAE’s energy demand, the company added.
KEPCO said it plans to continue efforts to seek strategic cooperation with other potential partners, such as Saudi Arabia and Brita
in.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
