Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has officially approved the inclusion of nuclear power technology into the country’s power generation mix.
The move, according to him, 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.
The West African nation’s electricity generation is mainly from hydroelectric, thermal, waste to energy and solar energy sources.
It will be recalled that in 2008, cabinet took a decision to include nuclear energy into the country’s energy generation mix and paved the way for its inclusion into the National Energy Policy and Strategy.
“This led to the establishment of the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organisation (GNPPO) to oversee the implementation and coordination of the nuclear power programme. Ghana subsequently declared its intention to pursue a Nuclear Power Programme (NPP) for peaceful purposes in August, 2013, through a letter submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).”
A statement issued and signed by the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said, “two other key institutions, namely Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) Ghana, an independent nuclear regulatory body, and Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG), a project company to take up the role and responsibility as owner-operator, have been established by government.”
“To satisfy all the relevant obligatory technical issues related to the introduction of nuclear power, the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), through its Technical Institute (the Nuclear Power Institute, NPI-GAEC), and with the support from other national bodies, has met all the Phase-1 nuclear infrastructure requirements as recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Milestone’s approach,” it added.
The statement continued that, “ in 2017 and 2019, the IAEA International Peer Review Mission, on the invitation of the country, undertook a review of the status of Ghana’s Phase 1 nuclear infrastructure development, and concluded that Ghana has satisfied all the prescribed studies for government to make a knowledgeable commitment to a Nuclear Power Programme.
Furthermore, the numerous studies and progress of activities undertaken in Phase 1 of the nuclear power programme had been consolidated into the Programme Comprehensive Report (PCR).”
He said, “I, hereby, announce and instruct the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and the Minister for Energy (MoE), in collaboration with the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, to take all the necessary steps to move the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organisation (GNPPO) from the Ministry of Energy to the Office of the President, to enhance proper coordination among the key institutions already established.
Additionally, “GAEC and its technical Institute (NPI-GAEC) will continue to play its supportive role to the GNPPO at the Office of the President following its re-alignment, he added.
The declaration stated further that, the Government of Ghana has adopted the content of the PCR as a reflection of nuclear power infrastructure issues in the country, committed to the peaceful uses of nuclear technology, as well as, continue their international cooperation and collaborations and participate in enhancing knowledge in all peaceful applications of nuclear technology.”
It also stated government’s commitment to “continue their transparency, adherence to the strict standards of safety, security, and accountability in the peaceful uses of nuclear technology and continue with its efforts to implement the nuclear power programme in the subsequent phases of the programme by using nuclear technology to generate electricity to accelerate national development and industrialisation.”