The country’s nuclear power programme is making steady progress as a preferred site and a backup site for the plant has been identified.
Executive Director of Nuclear Power Ghana, (NPG) Dr. Steven Yamoah also disclosed that the selection of a vendor or strategic partner and technology will be finalised by the end of 2023.
He said this in an address at a press conference organised by the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), where he updated stakeholders and the media on the project’s progress on activities.
“Hopefully by the end of the year we should be able to, in dialogue with the Ministry of Energy and government have a direction as to the vendor and technology and then it will pave the way for us to go into contract negotiations and discussions.
“We did a lot of technical studies in the area, and studies are ongoing to now go into detailed site characterization studies that will enable us to collect site-specific data that will inform the design of the power plant,” he said.
He also hinted on the possible reviewing of the project roadmap which was prepared in 2015.
“There is a major point as to when to review the roadmap, which is when a vendor and technology has been identified that seems to be the one major thing that will prolong the schedule,” he said.
The processes underway, he said, form part of phase two of the project towards realising the country’s vision to produce power from nuclear energy, ensuring reliable sources of power generation.
Dr. Yamoah is also confident the move is key for the country’s industrialization agenda and will serve as the springboard to aid the growth of other industries particularly when a reliable baseload power will be attained.
“Nuclear desirability comes in terms of reliability, affordability, security of supply and the fact that it galvanizes industrial growth and that is what we need,” he added.
To this end, the Director of Nuclear Power Institute (NPI), the technical arm of the project, Dr. Archibold Buah-Kwofi reiterated the need for capacity building saying that highly skilled, well-trained experts were required to ensure sustainability.
“Education and training, therefore, become key to achieving this skill development. The project success partly hinged on having sufficient numbers of qualified technicians,” he said.
Giving an update from his outfit’s end, he said the country has “floated request for further information to vendors, we have received responses, those responses are being evaluated, we will come up with a report that will advise the government on the potential strategic partner or vendor or technology to go with.
“Secondly there are ongoing activities at the site, detailed site investigation to assess the site, its readiness for/to accept nuclear technology, we have to do detailed scientific investigations to ensure it is fit for purpose and at the end of phase two -the strategic partner would have to be identified, we have to come up with feasibility report that entails environmental impact assessment that has would be conducted as part of site characterization”.
The Conference
Themed “The Role of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority in Ghana’s Nuclear Power Programme”, the conference was graced by government officials, media, and students.
Discussions focused on the nuclear power programme, and in particular, the provision of regulatory oversight that will give assurance to the public that safety, security, and safeguards considerations are being diligently upheld.
“The role of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority will ensure that everything being done in the three critical areas of safety, security and safeguards is done safely. We protect humans and the environment against radiation so, we make sure that everything is done safely,” the Director-General of the NRA, Dr Nii Kwashie Allottey assured.
The Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) organised the press conference in collaboration with the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, with sponsorship from the European Union through a consulting firm, ENCO.
