Ghana has to Choose between Large-scale Nuclear Power Plants to Small Modular Reactors
A nuclear power plant’s cooling towers emitting steam amid a dark sky, illustrating energy production and environmental impact.
The United States and Russia are locked in a race against China, France, and South Korea to build the first nuclear power plant in Ghana. The West African country is among several nations on the continent looking to nuclear power as a low carbon source of energy as they seek to broaden access to electricity. Ghana is turning to nuclear power to complement its existing mix of hydro, thermal and renewable energy. The winner of the ongoing bidding process will be announced at the end of 2024 by outgoing president Nana Akufo-Addo, Stephen Yamoah, executive director of Nuclear Power Ghana, which is supervising the project. Ghana laid out its current nuclear plans in 2015 with the expectation of having its first commercial nuclear power plant in 2030. The current nuclear program took off in 2008 after a nationwide power crisis in 2006 and 2007. The plan then was to have a nuclear power plant by 2018, but that target was revised due to a lack of political and financial commitment from successive governments.