UAE's nuclear energy company seeks approval to prepare for power plant

DUBAI, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) has requested the United Arab Emirates' Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) to approve additional preparatory construction work for the UAE's first nuclear power plant, ENEC said Sunday.

Facing growing energy demand, the UAE expects to have four nuclear power plants running and producing nearly a quarter of the country's electricity needs by 2020.

The ENEC plans to deliver electricity to the UAE grid in 2017. The company's spokesman said last year that once approved, the preparation work would start at the Bakra, a site selected by the UAE for nuclear complex, and the first concrete would be poured in 2012.

The company is requesting approval of the creation of a smooth flat surface at the bottom of the excavation to prepare for pouring concrete for Units 1 and 2, the government establishment said in a statement on its website, adding that its also asks for approval of placing reinforcing steels, embedded pipes as well as electrical conduits and electrical grounding material.

"The ENEC is not authorized to pour concrete for the permanent power block until it is granted a construction license from FANR," the statement said, adding that the company "submitted its construction license application for Bakra units 1 and 2 to FANR on Dec. 27 last year and the application is currently under review. "

Energy demand in the UAE is forecasted to grow about nine percent every year from 2007 to 2020, with an estimated 41,000 megawatts per year required in 2020.

The UAE is expected to award a contract in early 2012 for the supply of nuclear fuel to run its nuclear reactors. The country signed a contract with a South Korea-led consortium in December 2009 to design, build and run the reactors.

The UAE's representative to the United Nation had said the country will continue to take further steps towards developing its peaceful nuclear energy program within the framework of the safeguards and supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).