United Arab Emirates - World Nuclear Performance Report
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has four operable nuclear power reactors at its Barakah nuclear power plant, located 230 km west of Abu Dhabi. It is the first nuclear power plant in the Middle East.
Barakah 1 produced first power in August 2020, followed by unit 2 in September 2021, unit 3 in October 2022 and unit 4 in March 2024. Now fully operational, the four units supply some 20-25% of the UAE’s electricity.
The Barakah One Company PJSC – a joint venture between Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) – completed the AED 8.9 billion ($2.4 billion) refinancing of the project in July 2023.
In November 2024 ENEC and the government-owned diversified energy group ADNOC announced they would evaluate the deployment of advanced nuclear technology to support the UAE's energy diversification strategy and would investigate using excess heat from the Barakah nuclear power plant in ADNOC's oil and gas operations.
Nuclear electricity production by age of reactor
