Emirates Nuclear Energy reviews efforts to reduce carbon footprint

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation highlighted the pivotal role of nuclear energy in achieving climate neutrality, ensuring energy security and accelerating the reduction of the carbon footprint of the energy sector in the United Arab Emirates, during a symposium organized by the World Nuclear Association in the British capital, London, from the seventh to the ninth The month of September 2022, especially with the consolidation of the leading position of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plants as a strategic project that formed an Emirati success story in the nuclear energy sector at the global level emphasizing that nuclear energy is a solution to climate change, the results of which are beginning to become clear on the ground. During the symposium, Mohammed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Managing Director and CEO of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, participated in the session “Nuclear Energy, the Engine of Sustainable Development”, along with leaders of the global nuclear sector, including Dr. Sama Bilbao, Director General of the World Nuclear Association, and Patrick Frageman, CEO of Westinghouse. The American, Bernard Fontana, CEO of the French “Framatum” company, and Bohdan Zronk, the executive nuclear director of the Czech “CIZ” group, where Al Hammadi explained that the Barakah plants already support the carbon-free economy in the UAE, and accelerate the reduction of the carbon footprint on a large scale. In addition to ensuring energy security and supporting the growth of demand for environmentally friendly electricity. With the commercial operation of the first and second stations, and the imminent joining of the third and fourth stations, the Barakah plants are producing environment-friendly electricity around the clock, regardless of weather conditions. A recent study conducted by Standard & Poor’s International concluded that the four Barakah plants will reduce gas consumption by 440 billion cubic feet annually, at a value of approximately $4 billion at today’s prices, once they are fully operational, which supports the UAE’s plans to become a gas exporter by 2030. The study also concluded that the Barakah plants will contribute 25% of the country’s commitments to reduce carbon emissions that were pledged at the United Nations Climate Conference “COP26” held in Glasgow in 2021. During the symposium, Al Hammadi said: “Countries in Various parts of the world are facing an unprecedented energy crisis while also struggling to face the effects of climate change, while our experience has proven that the use of nuclear energy to reach climate neutrality is a radical solution to meet the two challenges at the same time. In this context, the decision of the United Arab Emirates to develop nuclear energy in 2008 gives its positive results at the present time in terms of ensuring energy security as well as facing climate change, in addition to providing gas for export to countries that need it.” Al Hammadi explained that “the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Program and the Barakah plants are the most prominent example of how to develop peaceful nuclear energy projects safely, successfully and competitively in order to reduce carbon emissions and support the path to achieving climate neutrality.” The World Nuclear Association Symposium is of added importance this year, given the pressing issues facing the world of energy supply and associated energy prices and inflation. While the prices of electricity and natural gas are witnessing rapid rise and continuous fluctuations, the need for nuclear energy has emerged as a stable, reliable and cost-effective source of energy throughout the world, while the UAE is distinguished as a success story in producing abundant amounts of electricity sustainably to meet the increasing demand for energy Through a thoughtful, forward-looking approach to the transition to carbon-neutral energy sources. The Barakah plants are among the largest nuclear power plants in the world, with four advanced power reactors APR 1400. By 2025, the Barakah plants are likely to be the largest contributor to reducing carbon emissions from the energy and water sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi by 50%, in addition to producing More than 88% of the electricity is environmentally friendly in the emirate. The Barakah plants are just the beginning, as they represent only 20% of the objectives of the UAE’s peaceful nuclear program. In addition to producing abundant amounts of environmentally friendly electricity around the clock, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation is currently focusing on exploring and attracting strategic investments in nuclear energy locally and internationally, to support the achievement of growth and development goals in the country. The knowledge system, in addition to the electric power provided by the Barakah plants, is a catalyst for innovation in the process of shifting to environmentally friendly energy sources, including the development of mini- and next-generation reactors models, in addition to paving the way for the development of new sources of carbon-free energy such as hydrogen, which enhances The leading position of the state in the energy sector.