Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) has completed cold hydrostatic testing of the 1400MW Barakah 4 reactor, which is being built in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi.
Completion of the testing is a "crucial step towards the completion" of the final unit of the Barakah plant, Enec said in a statement.
Barakah nuclear power plant, the first in the UAE, has four South Korean APR1400 reactors.
As a part of cold hydrostatic testing, the pressure inside Barakah 4’s systems was increased to 25% above what will be the normal operating pressure.
Before testing started, Barakah 4's nuclear steam supply systems (NSSS) were flushed with demineralized water, and the reactor pressure vessel head and reactor coolant pump seals were installed. During the cold hydrostatic testing, the welds, joints, pipes and components of the reactor coolant system and associated high-pressure systems were verified, Enec said.
“I am proud of the continued progress being made at Barakah despite the circumstances we have all faced in relation to Covid-19," said Mohamed Al Hammadi, chief executive officer of Enec.
"The UAE leadership’s decisive and proactive response to the pandemic supported us in taking timely, safety-led actions to protect the health and safety of our workforce and our plant. These actions, alongside the efforts of our talented and dedicated workforce, have enabled the successful completion of CHT at unit 4,” he added.
Enec said the overall construction of the four units at Barakah nuclear power plant is more than 94% complete.
Fuel assemblies were loaded into Barakah 1 in March, and preparations are now in the final stages for the safe startup of the reactor in the "coming months".
Construction of unit for is more than 84% complete, unit 3 more than 92% and unit 2 is more than 95%, Enec said.
Once completed the four units at Barakah, which will have total installed capacity of 5.6GW will generate up to 25% of the UAE’s electricity demand.
