‘Ghana must be cautious with Nuclear energy’

The CEO of the Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF) Nana Osei Bonsu has urged Ghana to proceed with caution with regard to exploring nuclear as an alternative way of generating energy.

According to him the risks and security measures involved should be looked at before the country goes for nuclear.

Talk of going nuclear has been rife, but Nana Bonsu, told business frtaternity at the just ended Ghana Economic Forum(GEF) that “I am not against nuclear, but I think we should be careful a little bit,” he said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has given Ghana the green light to produce electricity from atomic energy. This comes almost five decades after the country opened negotiations with the international body on the matter.

The Energy Ministry is, therefore, targeting 700MW of electricity from nuclear energy in the first phase before increasing it to 1,000MW in subsequent years.

This is to complement the country’s two main energy sources; hydro and thermal electricity. Ghana will be the second in Africa after South Africa to produce electricity from nuclear energy.

Although interest in nuclear energy is picking up, electricity from nuclear energy should not be expected soon since the processes involved in nuclear power production are cumbersome.

Government remains committed to the IAEA, and its preparations, has led to the formulation of the Nuclear Energy Programme Implementation Organisation, under the Ministry of Power, to support the development of nuclear power Ghana.