Accra, March 2, GNA – President Nana Akufo-Addo says Ghana is envisioning nuclear energy to account for 30 per cent of the country’s energy mix by 2070.
This would ensure the provision of clean and affordable electricity to drive the country’s industrialisation agenda.
“It is also meant to position Ghana as a net power exporter in the ECOWAS region through the West African Power Pool,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo made the statement when delivering the 2024 State of the Nation Address to Parliament.
He stated that his remark was an extension of what he said at the US-Africa Nuclear Energy Summit and the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Co-operation (IFNEC) Ministerial Conference, which took place in Accra in November last year.
“We have committed ourselves to the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” he added.
Nuclear energy comes from splitting atoms in a reactor to heat water into steam, turn a turbine and generate electricity.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, nuclear is a low carbon emitting source of energy apart from being a clean, reliable, affordable, and modern energy source.
Available data indicates that the total installed capacity for existing plants in Ghana is 5,134 Megawatt (MW), with a dependable capacity of 4,710 MW.
Thermal generation accounts for the largest share of Ghana’s power generation, representing 66 percent, with hydro accounting for 33 percent.
Ghana’s thermal power generation is fuelled largely by natural gas, but occasionally using light crude oil and diesel. Ghana exports power to Togo, Benin, and Burkina Faso.
GNA