Five providers responded to the “Request for Interest” that Ghana issued through the Ministry of Energy for cooperation in the framework of the nuclear power program, Ghana News reported on September 30th.
Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, the minister for the environment, science, technology and innovation, said at a press conference that the suppliers are from the US, Russia, Canada and South Korea. He said the nuclear power program sought to build nuclear power plants as part of the country’s energy mix and operate them safely to ensure affordable energy for industrial development. He noted that Ghana has exhausted its hydropower base as an energy source and needs to explore other clean options like nuclear power.
Ghana has completed the first phase of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) milestone approach to the development of its nuclear infrastructure, which includes a pre-feasibility study, infrastructure assessment, funding, technology to be deployed, safety and location. Dr. Afriyie said the program was now in its second phase, which included working with vendors, further site assessments, contracting, recruiting and training staff, further feasibility studies and the signing of a contract. He added that the final phase of the project would include the commissioning and operation of the power plant, as well as all activities required for the contract, licensing and construction.
Ghana has operated a miniature research reactor for 25 years and continues to offer training for nuclear scientists from other African countries as well as students from Pakistan and Iran. Dr. Afriyie said some sites for the NPP had already been identified and that three new seismic pieces of equipment that had been procured and installed at all candidate sites were transmitting data to the Ghana Geological Survey’s national data center.
In early September, the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) Director General Professor Benjamin Jabez Botwe Nyarko stated that Ghana’s nuclear power program is estimated to generate an estimated $ 1.2 billion in local industry involvement during its implementation.
Speaking at the 4th Ghana Industrial Summit and Exhibition in Accra, he said $ 1.2 billion is a projection based on the construction of a 1000 MWe nuclear power plant and does not include the benefits of putting the facility into operation would arise. Professor Nyarko, who is also vice chairman of the Ghana Nuclear Power Program Organization (GNPPO) and chairman of the board of Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG), stated that industry participation is one of the 19 infrastructure requirements of the IAEA’s milestones approach.
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