Construction of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi, UAE, is now well under way with about 74 per cent of the work on Unit 1 now complete.

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation's (Enec) first 1,400 MW Unit is scheduled for completion in 2017.

The plant will eventually consist of four nuclear power generating units with a combined capacity of approximately 5,600 MW and their associated facilities. Unit 2 is now 51 per cent complete, and construction of the overall programme is now more than 48 per cent complete, Enoc said.

Additional units will follow at 12 monthly intervals, with the fourth unit set to commence commercial operations in 2020, pending regulatory reviews and licensing.

Meanwhile, Enec has installed its second full scope APR-1400 training simulator at the organisation’s Simulator Training Center (STC) in Barakah.

The occasion also marked the successful completion of a major upgrade to Enec’s first full scope simulator, initially delivered in April 2014.

The upgrade consists of custom-designed modelling data applied to both simulators to make the technology more specific to the unique environment of Barakah Nuclear Power Plant (Barakah NPP),  allowing the devices to mimic the real conditions and future scenarios of the UAE plants.

Enec’s simulators are among the most advanced nuclear training devices in the world due to their complex core modelling and ultramodern Instrumentation and Control (I&C) systems, said a statement.

They are used in conjunction with classroom and on-the-job training to teach reactor operator (RO) and senior reactor operator (SRO) trainees the knowledge and skills needed to safely and efficiently operate a nuclear energy plant. Simulation training is part of the essential safety culture of the organization and plays a critical role in Enec’s ongoing operational readiness preparations in the lead up to the completion of Unit 1 in 2017.

Developed in conjunction with Enec’s prime contractor, the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), the simulators replicate the actual environment and conditions that certified ROs and SROs in the Barakah NPP control room would experience in a real time situation. They also provide students with the opportunity to experience unplanned events that they would otherwise not be exposed to in day to day operations.  - TradeArabia News Service