RIYADH: The UAE’s Barakah nuclear plant helped push the globe towards having 25 percent of its clean energy coming from atomic power in 2022, according to a new report.

Analysis by the World Nuclear Association showed that the world’s reactors generated more than 2,500 terawatt hours of electricity for the sixth consecutive year.

Unit 3 of the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant, situated 230 km west of Abu Dhabi, came online in October 2022 and helped make up for a drop in production in Europe partly caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It was one of six reactors across the world to begin generating power last year, along with two in China and one each in Finland, Pakistan, and South Korea.

The report indicated that nuclear generation totaled 2,545 TWh in 2022, which is 100 TWh lower than the year before.  

“The turmoil in energy markets, which had begun even before the current conflict in Ukraine sent fossil fuel prices sky high, has brought the issue of energy security to the fore, alongside the increasingly urgent requirements for rapid decarbonization to tackle climate change effectively, and the global sustainable development goal of providing access to affordable and clean energy for all,” said Sama Leon, director general of the World Nuclear Association.  

Significant events in Europe were major contributors to this reduction, including a series of welding repairs and other outages that led to a decrease of 81 TWh in France’s generation.  

There was also the shutdown of three of Germany’s remaining six reactors at the close of 2021, and the conflict in Ukraine which forced the closure of all six units at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the report stated.  

Leon insisted that the option of nuclear power as an energy source that can help the world transition away from fossil fuels must be given a good hearing at the UN climate change conference that will take place later this year in Dubai.

“The only way for the nuclear industry to be heard is if we present a cohesive vision of the important role that nuclear energy should play in a net-zero, clean energy future,” he said.  

Unit 1 of the UAE’s first nuclear power plant was connected to the grid in August 2020, followed by unit 2 in September 2021 and unit 3 last year.

As of June, Barakah 4 began its final operational readiness tests and is anticipated to start operations later in the year. Once all units are functioning, the plant will cater to 25 percent of the UAE’s electricity needs.