POWER January 2016 - 40

GENERATION TRANSITIONS
2. A sea of activity. With four units under construction simultaneously, a bevy of cranes
are in constant motion throughout the site. Courtesy: Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp.
ticated as the UAE nuclear energy program.
The evolution of our site has been spectacular
(Figure 2), but it is the result of hard work
and focus from all the stakeholders involved
in the project.
What have been the most difficult
tasks completed to date?
Al Hammadi: In the area of operational
readiness, we completed in 2015 another crucial
milestone when we filed the Operating
License Application (OLA) for Barakah Units
1 and 2 with the UAE's Federal Authority for
Nuclear Regulation (FANR). The OLA is approximately
15,000 pages and took a team of
ENEC and KEPCO employees, along with
a number of international experts, five years
to complete. The application documents the
plant's adherence to the highest standards of
safety, quality, and security.
As we planned for the development of
Women: A Vital Workforce Resource
Developing the next generation of nuclear
energy leaders is one of the most important
priorities for the Emirates Nuclear Energy
Corp. (ENEC). The company's Human
Capacity Development program, called Energy
Pioneers, aims to attract and train
the country's most talented science students,
engineering graduates, and experienced
professionals and provide them
with an opportunity to become pioneers
in the emerging nuclear energy sector.
ENEC supports an increasing number of
female students through its Energy Pioneers
scholarship program. Currently more
than 27% of students in its educational
programs are female, and the percentage
is even greater-36%-in ENEC's Higher
Diploma in Nuclear Technology program.
These talented women are playing an active
role in delivering a project that will
have a direct and lasting impact on the
continued growth and development of the
nation.
Female employees work in a variety of
roles across the organization, from nuclear
engineers to office administration staff to
specialized roles within management. One
of ENEC's most notable female employees
is Amani Al Hosani (Figure 3), who is the
current deputy head of simulators. In her
40
3. A true pioneer. Amani Al Hosani was
awarded the prestigious UAE Pioneers award
as the country's first female nuclear engineer.
Courtesy: Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp.
the UAE's peaceful nuclear energy program,
one of the challenges we experienced
was the need to create a nuclear industry
here in the UAE to support the construction
and operations of the plants in Barakah. In
order to achieve this, ENEC and KEPCO
have worked with UAE companies to develop
a new industrial sector to support the
nation's economic growth and diversification
strategy. This is a project that we have
been working on since the inception of the
program in 2009, and it is starting to produce
positive results.
We created a dedicated industrial development
team to work alongside UAE companies
to raise their standards to meet the
unique requirements of the nuclear industry.
This has allowed these companies to not
only contribute to the success of the ENEC
program but also to gain a competitive advantage
in providing nuclear-quality services
and materials to the world.
ENEC works with local companies to upcurrent
role, Al Hosani hosts training sessions
and visitors to the Simulator Training
Center, which has exact replicas of
sections of the power plant, including the
control room.
Recently, ENEC celebrated the one-year
anniversary of the first Women in Nuclear
(WiN) chapter in the Middle East. The
chapter is part of the global organization
that supports the role of women in the
nuclear industry around the world and is
part of the World Nuclear Association. The
vision of ENEC's WiN chapter is to support,
encourage, and mentor women in the UAE
to realize their full potential in various
fields of nuclear science, engineering, and
technology.
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grade their systems to become ASME nuclear
component-certified companies, the key
certification required to become nuclearapproved
suppliers. ENEC and KEPCO also
hold regular supplier forums to ensure local
companies are informed about upcoming
opportunities and are educated on the steps
required to register for the tendering process
for Barakah projects. We have worked with
companies such as Emirates Steel, National
Cement, Dubai Cable Co. (DUCAB), National
Marine Dredging Co., Western Bainoona
Group, and Hilalco to bring them into
the nuclear-certified category, and to provide
products and services to our program
and the world.
Recently, we achieved a key milestone
by awarding more than $2.5 billion in local
contracts in just the first few years of
construction at Barakah. With 40 years of
POWER | January 2016
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POWER January 2016

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