Unit 1 is scheduled to enter commercial operations in 2020, with one additional reactor coming online each year until 2020 - pending regulatory approvals.

On December 29, 2009, ENEC selected the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) to design, build, and help operate its four nuclear energy plants.

[18] The contract includes substantial knowledge-transfer in human resource development, technical training, and education programs,[19] to support ENEC as it builds the capacity to staff the country's nuclear energy industry.

ENEC has selected KEPCO's APR-1400 design, a Generation III+, 1,400 Megawatt Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), for its future nuclear fleet.

The plants are designed to withstand extreme events including tsunamis, earthquakes, and station black-outs, and have also been adapted to suit the UAE's unique climate and conform to specific FANR requirements.

[21] ENEC's selected site to home its four nuclear energy plants is in Barakah, in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi on the Persian Gulf coast, approximately 53 kilometers southwest of the city of Ruwais.

[24] 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 operations.

By 2020, ENEC expects to require more than 2,500 employees to operate its four nuclear energy plants, and the organization aims to fill 60 percent of these roles with Emiratis.

[35][36] In November 2012, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, welcomed then President of the Republic of Korea, His Excellency Lee Myung-bak, to Barakah to witness the recent construction milestones achieved by ENEC and discuss further cooperation between the two nations.

[39] IAEA director general, Yukiya Amano, also toured the Barakah site in January 2013, where he praised the "safe and consistent progress" ENEC had made in the development of the peaceful nuclear energy program.