What is the UAE’s Barakah nuclear plant, nearly hit by a drone?

A drone attack that caused a fire close to the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in the United Arab Emirates has raised further concerns about nuclear security and military escalation in the Gulf as discussions of peace between Iran and the United States hang in the balance. Barakah was the first nuclear power station to be built on the Arabian Peninsula. Here is what we know about it: Barakah is a nuclear energy plant located in Al Dhafra, the largest municipal region of the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

It is the UAE’s only nuclear power plant. Construction of the plant began in 2012, and its first reactor became commercially operational in 2021. The plant is located close to the border with Saudi Arabia, about 225km (140 miles) west of the UAE’s capital city, Abu Dhabi. The facility features four pressurised water reactors, the most common type of nuclear power reactor. The model used here is the advanced power reactor 1400, a pressurised water reactor design developed in South Korea. Each reactor of this type has the capacity to produce 1,400 megawatts (MW), which is enough to power roughly 1 million homes. According to the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), the plant’s reactors produce 40 terawatt-hours (TWh) each year, which is equivalent to about 25 percent of the UAE’s electricity needs. The website for the London-based World Nuclear Association also confirmed that Barakah, when fully operational, meets 25 percent of the UAE’s electricity needs. According to a September report by the Abu Dhabi media office, Barakah had produced 40TWh of clean energy over “the past 12 months”. Since nuclear power plants produce a lower amount of carbon dioxide emissions than conventional power plants, the ENEC said Barakah saves up to 22.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year, equivalent to removing 4.8 million cars from the roads. What happened in the attack on Sunday, and how has the UAE responded? Authorities in Abu Dhabi said a single drone strike caused a blaze to break out at an electrical generator outside the Barakah plant’s inner perimeter in the Al Dhafra region on Sunday.

Key points

• It is the UAE’s only nuclear power plant.
• Construction of the plant began in 2012, and its first reactor became commercially operational in 2021.
• The plant is located close to the border with Saudi Arabia, about 225km (140 miles) west of the UAE’s capital city, Abu Dhabi.
• The facility features four pressurised water reactors, the most common type of nuclear power reactor.
• The model used here is the advanced power reactor 1400, a pressurised water reactor design developed in South Korea.