UAE awards Nuclear Fuel deals worth $3 billion
Abu Dhabi : 16-Aug-2012
Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) has awarded $3 billion worth of contracts to six international firms to procure fuel for its nuclear power plants, expected to start-up by 2017. The contracts cover three areas, including purchase of natural uranium concentrates; its conversion into material ready for enrichment; enrichment services in which the material is enriched to a level that is used in the fuel for nuclear energy plants and purchase of enriched uranium product. The enriched uranium will be supplied to Kepco Nuclear Fuels (KNF), a part of Kepco, which will manufacture the fuel assemblies for use in the four power plants. Starting in 2014-2015, a total of six leading companies in the nuclear fuel supply industry will participate in the client's fuel supply programme. US-based ConverDyn will provide conversion services; Canada's Uranium One will provide natural uranium; UK-based Urenco will provide enrichment services; and Rio Tinto will provide natural uranium.
Russia's Tenex will supply uranium concentrates, conversion services and enrichment services. France's Areva will provide uranium concentrates, conversion services and enrichment services. The contracted fuel will enable the Barakah plant to generate up to 450 million MWh for a period of 15 years starting in 2017, when the first nuclear energy unit is scheduled to begin generating safe, clean, reliable and efficient electricity to UAE. Last month, ENEC received regulatory approval from both the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi and the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation for construction of the first two nuclear energy units in Barakah. The first unit is scheduled to begin delivering electricity to the grid in 2017. The remaining three units are scheduled to come online in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
