Second training simulator installed at Barakah nuclear plant

A nuclear training device has been installed this week by the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation.

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation installed a second reactor control room simulator for training. Wam

A second training simulator has been installed at the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation’s centre in Barakah.

The first, which was delivered in April 2014, was given a major upgrade which allows it to mimic real conditions and scenarios at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Al Gharbia.

“Enec is constructing the UAE’s first nuclear energy plant to the highest standards of safety, quality, and performance,” said Ahmed Al Rumaithi, deputy chief executive. “This facility provides a proven method of training that ensures our reactor operators are well-prepared for all scenarios and ready to deliver safe and reliable operations for our plant at all times.”

The simulators are among the most advanced nuclear training devices in the world and are used with classroom and on-the-job training to teach trainees the skills needed to operate a nuclear energy plant.

The simulators also provide students the chance to experience unplanned events that they would otherwise not be exposed to in day-to-day operations.

Enec has seven groups of trainees that comprise 116 reactor operators at various stages of initial certification training. The first two groups are scheduled to take their examination in February.

The Barakah plant will eventually consist of four nuclear power generating units with a combined capacity of approximately 5,600 megawatts. The organisation’s first 1,400mw unit is scheduled to be complete in 2017. Additional units will follow at annual intervals with the fourth unit set to commence commercial operations in 2020 after regulatory reviews and licensing.