Ghana’s journey to nuclear energy

My guest columnist this week is Dr Robert Sogbadji (PhD), Deputy Director of Power (Nuclear and Alternative Energy) at the Ministry of Energy.

He takes a look back in time at Ghana’s journey into nuclear power as a source of energy.

Long before climate change generated the global outcry that it does today, Ghana placed nuclear power on its energy mix agenda in the mid-1960s, after having constructed the largest hydropower plant with an installed capacity of 1020 MW.

Ghana’s nuclear energy programme commenced with the establishment of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission in 1966, an institution that would drive the nuclear power programme agenda through to human resource development and a research centre for the various applications of nuclear energy.

The nuclear project was, however, truncated after a military coup d’état in 1966.

In the early 1980s, Ghana experienced its first nationwide power outages due to insufficient installed generation capacity.

These outages led to the inclusion of thermal plants into the energy mix with the use of heavy fuel oil.

Energy shortages occurred once again in the mid-1990s and in early 2000.

These shortages, among other factors, led to the government taking a Cabinet decision in 2008 to include nuclear power into the country’s electricity generation mix, following recommendations from the Presidential Committee set up in 2007 (The Adjei Bekoe Committee) to advise the government of the potential of adding nuclear power to the country’s energy mix.

The committee subsequently recommended the setting up of a Presidential Commission on Nuclear Power Development (PCNPD), the establishment of a legal framework and regulatory body for regulation and enforcement, and assent international agreements related to non-proliferation, physical protection, nuclear safety and security as well as a civil liability regime.

Nuclear programme development

The 2010 National Energy Policy (NEP) and the Strategic National Energy Plan (SNEP 2006 – 2020) both recognised nuclear energy as a long-term strategy for a secure, reliable, and efficient supply of electricity. Nuclear energy was subsequently rejuvenated, with the Government of Ghana declaring to the IAEA in August 2013 its intention to pursue a nuclear power programme for peaceful purposes.

The Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organisation (GNPPO) was then established with a secretariat at the Ministry of Energy (in 2012) to oversee the implementation of the nuclear programme.

In 2016, Ghana established an independent Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) to ensure an effective regulatory regime concerning nuclear safety, security, and safeguards. Nuclear Power Ghana Ltd (NPG), the proposed owner/operator of the country’s first Nuclear Power Plant, was established in 2018, under the Companies Act, following the Cabinet’s consideration and approval.

The GNPPO’s objective was to oversee the implementation and coordination of the nuclear programme and the development of the nuclear infrastructure required for the successful introduction of nuclear energy into the generation mix.

However, the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities in Ghana slowed activities related to the nuclear programme, which had established a target of commissioning the first nuclear plant by 2024. This date was subsequently postponed to the early 2030s.

In 2017 and 2019, upon the invitation of Ghana, the IAEA International Peer Review mission undertook a review of Ghana’s Phase 1 nuclear infrastructure development studies and concluded that Ghana has undertaken all the prescribed studies for the government to make a knowledgeable commitment to a nuclear power programme.

These studies and activities have been consolidated into the Ghana Nuclear Programme’s Comprehensive Report.

Recent developments

In 2021, the Ministry of Energy, on behalf of the Government of Ghana, issued a Request for Information (RFI) to six (6) Vendor countries through their respective Heads of Missions in Accra for available technologies on both Small Modular Reactors (60-300 MWe) and large reactors (700-1200 MWe).

This was in line with the Phase 2 target of identifying a vendor and technology for the construction of Ghana’s first nuclear power plant. By the end of 2022, Ghana is expected to identify a vendor country and nuclear technology for the country.

In 2022, the Cabinet approved the acquisition of identified preferred and backup nuclear power site.

In July 2022, the President of the Republic of Ghana issued a declaration on the inclusion of nuclear technology in the national electricity generation mix after a thorough review of the GNPPO Phase 1 report.

Currently, the technical committee of Cabinet has approved Nuclear Power Ghana Ltd to be established by an Act of Parliament as per international best practice and recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Nuclear energy is expected to serve as a clean baseload energy to support the nation’s industrialisation agenda.

Having nuclear in the energy mix will lower end-user tariffs, which will further open the West African Power Pool to Ghana in order to trade energy with the West African region.

The march towards nuclear energy in Ghana is on course and would be a game changer in this country’s fortunes in the energy space.