Ghana’s energy stock is in excess of 1,500 Mega Watts (wm), but the main players in the industry, in projecting the future, have warned that in order not to repeat the experiences of dum-so (power rationing), the country must begin on the path of nuclear power generation.
Nuclear power, which has been on the country’s drawing board since the 1950s, is hoped to be implemented in the coming years to add onto the country’s energy mix – renewable energy, fossil fuel and hydropower dams.
Thus, when the nuclear power comes on board it would have the capacity to generate 1,000mw of electricity to add onto the existing capacity.
The main industry players, namely the Volta River Authority (VRA) and Bui Power Authority, in collaboration with the Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG), project the country’s energy production to exceed its current capacity by 2023.
The power players, in order not to wait for the unexpected to befall the country, said that nuclear power was the way to go.
This was made known at a two-day workshop for journalists, held under the theme: “Ghana’s power generation plan and current options to accelerate industrial development” in Accra.
Outlining the benefits to be derived from nuclear power, the Executive Directive of the NPG, Dr Stephen Yamoah, said it would help the country achieve its industrial agenda, creation of jobs, exportation of power to other countries, and electricity supply sustainable, reliable and affordable.
He also demystify misconceptions and perceptions that Ghana, as a developing country, lacks the capacity to manage a nuclear facility, saying the Akosombo and Bui dams had been managed by locals since their inception, and that the same careful skills would be applied to the nuclear plant.
According to him, nuclear is not only used for the creation of weapons of mass destruction, and that there several positive uses of nuclear, which, among them, is the generation of electricity, preservation of food, and for health and medical purposes among others.
On the issue of environmental safety and friendliness, he noted that nuclear plant domes are some of the most well-built structures in the world, as one dome housing a plant is built with 3,000 tonnes of cement and is so strong that not even a plane can run into it.
Additionally, nuclear plants least emit dangerous gases into the environment.
On the technology, which is hoped to be imported from any of the six nuclear countries – United States, China, Russia South Korea, India, Francis and Japan – he said: “We have assessed the technology that these countries would want to sell to us, and we are okay with the technology.”
He added that nuclear power production is one of the most regulated industries in the energy sector, as it is governed by 12 international legal regimes, which Ghana has signed onto all.
Dr Seth Kofi Debrah, Director of the Nuclear Power Institute, indicated that the conversation into the provision of nuclear power plant must be supported by the public, reiterating that it is sustainable, reliable and affordable and clean energy.
He said if the country, by chance, loses focus and misses the opportunity of implementing a nuclear power policy now, it would take not less than two decades for the conversation for the initiative to begin again.
In Dr Debrah’s view, a nuclear plant in the country means “money in people’s pockets”, since so many industries would develop around the sector.
The workshop was organised as a result of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the NPG, Nuclear Ghana Programme Organisation and the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
The post Nuclear power holds future key to dum-so -NPG appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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