The Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) is urging government to make nuclear energy the prime source for electricity production in the country, asserting the clean energy source should constitute 80 percent of the country’s energy mix.
The assertion by the group is on the basis that, the switch from hydro and thermal to nuclear energy will free the country from incurring judgement debts due to the numerous power purchase agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
Not too long ago, a $170 million judgement debt was awarded Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC) by the London Commercial Court of international arbitration over government’s decision to terminate a contract with the company.
Speaking to the media on the issue, Executive Director of ASEPA, Mensah Thompson, averred nuclear energy aside preventing the country from incurring judgment debts, will also provide reliable and constant supply of energy for homes and industry.
“We can prevent all these judgement debts from the numerous power purchase agreements if we invest in nuclear energy as the baseline for our energy mix. We need other green or clean energy forms like solar and wind, but what we need is a reliable baseline energy which is nuclear and after that you can add solar and wind.”
“Nuclear energy should form like 80 percent of our energy mix, then thermal will be 10 percent with wind and solar being 5 percent each. Should the government do this, we will have a very stable and cheap power supply,” he stated.
Meanwhile, majority of manufacturing firms in the country have declared their support for plans by government to introduce nuclear power into the country’s energy mix.
This is according to a survey carried out by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana (UG).
Per the results of the survey, 75 percent of the 200 firms surveyed backed government’s intention to generate electricity using nuclear energy asserting it is cheaper than other energy sources.
Presenting the findings at a stakeholder meeting in Accra, Dr. Simon Bawakyillenuo, a research fellow with the institute averred 92 percent of the firms surveyed were aware that nuclear energy can be used to generate electricity hence the endorsement of government’s nuclear energy plan.
It is time to use nuclear energy
Minister for Energy, Mathew Opoku Prempeh, has said its about time Ghana tried using nuclear energy to generate electricity for use in the country.
Touting nuclear energy as the ‘safest and cleanest’ form of energy, the Minister has averred that plans are far advanced to introduce nuclear energy into the country’s energy mix.
According to him, government now stands at the juncture of selecting a vendor to build nuclear power plants in the country.
“Successive governments since the year 2000, have all promoted and pushed for the agenda of nuclear power in the country, I have been informed that we have gone past certain initial stages in our quest to have nuclear power and that currently we now at the point where we have to select a vendor,” he noted.
“The selection of the vendor means a lot of things, it will decide the technology to be used and the training that has to be given to Ghanaians to manage the system. And the training is the last stage and that takes time and so if you don’t select a vendor on time it delays the progress made,” he stated.
“But I think we are at a time where probably we should try nuclear power, it is the safest and cleanest form of energy,” he further stated.
