Director-General of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), William D. Magwood IV, has recognized Ghana as one of the Sub-Saharan African nations prepared to harness nuclear technology for economic advancement.
“The country seems to be ahead of others, in terms of intellectual infrastructure, strong core people with excellent technical training and good political commitment.
“Participating ministries understand their policy roles in detail, structures are in place and regulatory agencies understand nuclear safety,” he said at a media briefing on the sidelines of the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation (IFNEC) Ministerial Conference in Accra on Thursday.
The IFNEC convened senior government officials, nuclear industry leaders, and essential stakeholders to deliberate on regional and global collaboration and the necessary policies for the progress of nuclear energy initiatives.
These discussions encompassed topics such as financing for nuclear projects, regulatory frameworks, the development of human resources, supply chain expansion, project mapping, and development.
Mr Magwood, who was responding to a question, said the NEA would support the country to succeed.
He said Ghanaian technical people had an advanced awareness of available technologies that might benefit the country based on its circumstances.
“…It is one thing to invite a vendor country to build a nuclear plant for you and anybody can do that. But to take responsibility to understand the technologies and make a choice that they want multiple nuclear technologies, I find this very extremely advantageous and advanced than what I see in other countries,” he added.
Nuclear technologies, Magwood noted, had become attractive to many other African countries, saying that it was a positive sign given that Africa would be the most populous continent by 2050.
Professor Samuel Boakye Dampare, Director General of Ghana Atomic Energy Commission said the country had selected Nsuban in the Western region and Obotan in the Central region as two potential sites to host its first nuclear power plant.
Detailed technical assessments were being concluded at both locations to determine the preferred sites.
The selection of the site was an important step in the second phase of the country’s Nuclear Power Programme and precedes the selection of a vendor/partner to construct the plant.
Four sites were initially selected for the construction of the nuclear power plant, and after further studies by Ghanaian experts, the team ranked the sites to settle on Nsuban and Obotan.
Prof. Dampare reported that significant headway has been made in vendor selection, and the government is set to announce the partner country responsible for constructing the nuclear plant by 2030.
Ghana has taken steps to establish the Nuclear Regulatory Authority, and efforts are underway to bolster the capacity of these institutions, enhancing their effectiveness.
The country’s drive to incorporate nuclear energy into its energy mix is aimed at supporting industrialization amid the decline of conventional energy sources.
Key sectors of the Ghanaian economy, including manufacturing, agriculture, health, energy, and mining, have advocated for the inclusion of nuclear power as an alternative electricity source in the national energy mix.
According to a nationwide socioeconomic survey conducted by the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER), around 75% of companies in these sectors are willing to upgrade their capacity to participate in Ghana’s nuclear energy agenda.