Nuclear power: Chinese, French, Americans, Russians courting Ghana to build first plant - Energy minister

The Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has compared Ghana having a nuclear power plant to the longevity of a marriage.

He explained that nuclear power, which is the safest form of energy in humanity, has the potential to last long enough—far more than a marriage does.

Speaking during his time at Meet-the-Press in Accra, the minister explained that the desire to build Ghana’s first nuclear power plant has received a lot of interest from some of the world’s biggest players.

He described the feeling as one akin to being courted by many suitors.

“I didn’t know that when somebody is courting you, it is the best time of your life. I’m being courted by everybody because everybody wants to build Ghana’s first nuclear power plant. The Chinese, the French, the Americans, and the Russians are all hovering around. I’m spoilt for choice, you see.

“… but do you know my biggest fear? The partnership of a nuclear power plant lasts longer than marriage, and that one, you can’t exercise the right to leave; it’s a partnership for life, because the average lifespan of a nuclear power plant is 60 years, and when you maintain it, you add another 40 years… it is the safest form of energy we have seen in life,” he said.

The country is seeking to add nuclear energy to its energy portfolio to support industrialization after the dwindling of traditional energy sources.

Industries in major sectors of the Ghanaian economy have called for the inclusion of nuclear power as an alternative source of electricity in the country’s energy mix.

About 75 per cent of firms from the manufacturing, agriculture, health, energy, and mining sectors say they were willing to upgrade their capacity to be able to take part in Ghana’s nuclear agenda.

The finding was made in a baseline nationwide social and economic survey on generating electricity using nuclear technology by the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER).

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