Ghana takes a step closer to nuclear power after IAEA review

Ghana’s dreams of generating nuclear energy have taken a step closer to becoming a reality after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) completed a mission to review the country’s process for selecting the site of its first nuclear power station.

Nuclear Power Ghana, the parastatal company in charge of developing the country’s nuclear ambitions, chose the coastal location of Nsuban in the Western Region as its preferred site for a power station in September 2023. It named Obotan in the Central Region as a backup option. The IAEA review endorsed NPG’s process for selecting these sites.

“Ghana followed the IAEA safety standards while performing the site selection process,” said Kazuyuki Nagasawa, the IAEA’s senior nuclear safety officer, who led the eight-day mission.

“We confirmed that both the implementing organisation and the management system are well-designed with the support of the government and that the Site Approval Report has been systematically and thoroughly prepared.”

The thumbs-up from the IAEA is “a major step forward”, says Hubert Foy, director at the African Center for Science and International Security. He tells African Business that the IAEA’s endorsement will reassure domestic and international stakeholders that Ghana’s nuclear plans are “aligned with global best practices”, paving the way for further progress.

The thumbs-up from the IAEA is significant, since countries developing nuclear energy depend on the IAEA’s support to access technological cooperation from other countries. IAEA approval is also a prerequisite for attracting finance.

Ghana is currently moving through the second phase of the three-phase process overseen by the IAEA for developing nuclear power. Phase 1 involves the considerations taken prior to a decision on adopting nuclear energy. Phase 2, which Ghana entered in 2022 when then-President Nana Akufo-Addo formally approved a nuclear roadmap, involves the preparatory work prior to construction.

It is Phase 3 – the contracting and construction phase – that is likely to prove most complicated.

Going nuclear?

Africa currently has just one operational nuclear power station, at Koeburg in South Africa. A second facility is being built in Egypt by Russian nuclear energy giant Rosatom.

Many other African countries have expressed interest in developing nuclear power, of which Ghana and Kenya appear to have the most developed plans.

Yet despite the success of the recent IAEA mission, key stakeholders in Ghana acknowledge that its nuclear agenda has fallen behind schedule. Stephen Yamoah, executive director of NPG, admitted last month that the original target of generating nuclear energy by 2030 “is not technically feasible”.

He suggested, however, that construction could begin by 2028. With the construction phase likely to last at least five years, that would mean a nuclear switch-on around the mid-2030s.

The delay could be a blessing in disguise. IAEA guidelines state that a nuclear reactor (which usually generates around 1GW of electricity) should not provide more than 10% of a country’s total power capacity. Presently, however, Ghana’s capacity is just 5.5 GW. Although some of the excess power could be exported through the West African Power Pool, the current state of the electricity strongly implies a nuclear power station is not a suitable option until power demand has grown substantially.

A report published last year by researchers at University College London also warned that Ghana’s placement under an IMF programme “adds another layer of complexity”. While noting that conditions of the IMF’s loan programme do not explicitly prohibit funding a nuclear programme, the report stated that IMF constraints could limit the government’s ability to provide sovereign guarantees for project financing.

Despite these challenges, the government appears determined to press ahead with its nuclear agenda. The next major milestone will be the selection of a contractor – a process heavily laden with geopolitical considerations. The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), French company EDF and US-based NuScale have all signed agreements on cooperation with the Ghanaian government in recent years, while Rosatom is also in the running.