GNA- President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has approved the inclusion of nuclear technology into Ghana’s power generation mix.

The move is in consonance with the global collective commitment to the sustainable availability of power, and the peaceful exploitation of nuclear energy to enhance rapid industrialization, and to propel economic growth.

A statement issued in Accra on Wednesday and signed by President Akufo-Addo said Ghana satisfied all the relevant obligatory technical issues related to the introduction of nuclear power and had met all the first Phase of nuclear infrastructure requirements as recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Consequently, the President has directed the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and the Minister of Energy (MoE) to collaborate with the Chief of Staff at the Presidency “to take all the necessary steps to move the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organisation (GNPPO) from the Ministry of Energy to the Office of the President, to enhance proper coordination among the key institutions already established.”

The statement said the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and its technical Institute, the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI-GAEC), would continue to play its supportive role to the GNPPO at the Office of the President following its re-alignment.

Ghana in August 2013 submitted a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declaring the country’s intention to pursue a nuclear power programme for peaceful purposes.

That move was the result of a cabinet decision in 2008 to include nuclear energy into the country’s energy generation mix, that led to the establishment of the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organisation (GNPPO) to oversee the implementation and coordination of the nuclear power programme.

Subsequently, two other key institutions- Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) Ghana, an independent nuclear regulatory body, and Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG), a project company were established by the Government to take up the role and responsibility as owner-operator.

In 2017 and 2019, the IAEA International Peer Review Mission undertook a review of the status of Ghana’s Phase 1 nuclear infrastructure development and concluded that Ghana had satisfied all the prescribed studies for government to make a knowledgeable commitment to a Nuclear Power Programme.

The statement said the Government was committed to the peaceful uses of nuclear technology and would continue international cooperation and collaborations and participate in enhancing knowledge in all peaceful applications of nuclear technology.

It also stated the government’s commitment to transparency, adherence to the strict standards of safety, security, and accountability in the peaceful uses of nuclear technology, and would in the subsequent phases of the programme use nuclear technology to generate electricity to accelerate national development and industrialisation.”

SOURCE: GNA