Stakeholders to discuss Ghana’s nuclear power programme May 30

The government, media, academia, industry, and the general public will discuss the state of Ghana’s nuclear power program tomorrow at the Nuclear Power Forum at the Accra International Conference Centre.

Ghana is in phase II of its Nuclear Power Programme (NPP), and the forum seeks to provide stakeholders with an update on the status of Ghana’s nuclear power infrastructure development.

It will also serve as an opportunity for stakeholders to gain first-hand knowledge of the pre-and post-Fukushima experiences of the Japanese nuclear industry.

The forum is being organized by the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) on behalf of the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organization (GNPPO) on the theme "Learning from the Japanese Nuclear Experience".

The GNPPO is the technical workforce and advisory body responsible for coordinating the nuclear power program. Three key organizations constitute the GNPPO: the Nuclear Power Institute, which is responsible for providing technical know-how and support; Nuclear Power Ghana, which is the owner and operator; and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority, which is the regulator. It is chaired by the Ministry of Energy.

The forum, which will be streamed live on the social media accounts of GAEC, forms part of technical cooperation with the Japanese Government through the JAIF International Corporation Centre (JICC). It has seen about 450 participants trained virtually in the last 12 months.

According to the Director of NPI, Prof. Seth Kofi Debrah, the Japanese government continues to explore the opportunities nuclear power has to offer them because of its enormous benefits to the country’s development.

"That should tell us the critical role of nuclear power, and I’m certain that once nuclear power comes online to augment Ghana’s energy mix, it will help boost the country's industrialization agenda," he added.

“In order to educate stakeholders on Ghana's nuclear power program and help them understand the tremendous advantages it has to offer; key topics have been carefully selected for discussion at the forum. We also hope to draw some valuable lessons from the Japanese nuclear industry”, Prof. Debrah stressed.

The topics for discussion at the forum include Ghana’s energy transition, the status of Ghana’s nuclear infrastructure development, and the socio-economic benefits of nuclear power—the Japanese Experience.

The rest are radioactive waste management in Japan, the Japanese nuclear power industry and experience.

Some key personalities to participate in the forum include the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI); the Minister of Energy; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, as well as the U.S. and Japanese Ambassadors to Ghana.