The Director of the Nuclear Power Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Professor Seth Kofi Debrah says President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s approval for the inclusion of nuclear power into the country’s power generation mix indicates the country’s readiness to go nuclear.
The President, in a statement on Wednesday, approved the inclusion of nuclear technology into the country’s power generation mix.
The statement said the decision was in line with global collective commitment to ensure sustainable power to enhance rapid industrialisation, and to propel economic growth.
Prof Debrah told the Ghana News Agency that the formal announcement of approval meant the country was the first in the subregion to commit to a nuclear power programme and provided enough signal to the international community and investors that it was a venture worth funding.
He said the announcement, technically known as the National Position, was one of the key 19 infrastructure issues under phase one of the programme, a guideline set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
It is in consonance with the global collective commitment to the sustainable availability of power, and the peaceful exploitation of nuclear energy for the benefit of citizens, to enhance rapid industrialization, and to propel economic growth.
He said: “This development informs the international community that the country has done the needful under phase one, which includes making a knowledgeable commitment and making a formal declaration.”
“It gives the country the leverage over other countries within the subregion, especially as, there is a vision to make Ghana a power generation hub and provide stable electricity to propel development on the continent.”
Prof. Debrah commended the government for moving the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organisation (GNPPO), the body mandated to oversee the implementation and coordination of the nuclear power programme, to the Presidency.
He said the GNPPO would be dealing with trade, human resource development, energy generation and regulations that would need a higher body to ensure effective and efficient coordination and implementation.
Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG), the established Owner/Operator of Ghana’s proposed Nuclear Power Plant(s), has successfully completed Phase one activities as required by the IAEA.
In Phase 2 of the Programme, it has made great strides in the required processes and currently making efforts to facilitate the public announcement of the preferred site, the technology Ghana has opted for, and the selected Vendor/Strategic Partner for the Project by the end of 2022.
To develop sustainably, have clean, reliable, safe power and ensure secured and smooth energy transition, Ghana decided to include nuclear power in its energy mix – solar, hydropower, and thermal.
The deployment of nuclear power in Ghana is also in line with the country’s Green Energy Solutions commitments and the government’s medium to long-term strategy of actualising industrialisation and socio-economic development within the West African sub-region, the government has said.
Energy experts estimate that beyond 2025, Akosombo and Kpong Hydropower Plants, the nation’s baseload supply points, which currently serve 32 per cent of electricity demand, would have their capacities reduced to about 25 per cent.
Source: BBC
