Ghana : Five Countries Compete to Build the Country’s First Nuclear Power Plant

Ghana and other African countries are increasingly considering nuclear energy to address electricity supply deficits.

According to Reuters, Ghana will select a company by December 2024 to build its first nuclear power plant. Candidates include France’s EDF, America’s NuScale Power and Regnum Technology Group, and the China National Nuclear Corporation.

South Korea’s Kepco and Russia’s Rosatom are also contenders for the contract, which will span the next decade, as stated by Robert Sogbadji, deputy director at the Ministry of Energy responsible for nuclear and alternative energy.

“The cabinet will approve the final choice. It could be a single supplier or two countries, depending on the financial model and technical details,” Sogbadji told Reuters on May 20.

Sogbadji mentioned that 16 countries and companies initially responded to the government’s vendor request. However, a technical team from state agencies, led by the energy ministry, narrowed it down to the current five contenders.

Ghana aims to add approximately 1,000 MW of nuclear power to its energy mix by 2034.

The country currently faces severe power outages and has an installed capacity of 5,454 MW, with only about 4,483 MW available.

Ghana, a country known for exporting oil, cocoa, and gold, hopes nuclear energy will become the backbone of its rapid and broad industrialization. Additionally, Ghana aims to increase its energy exports to neighboring countries such as Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo through the West Africa Power Pool.

Mr. Sogbadji mentioned that the government has already identified a site that can accommodate up to five reactors. He added that they prefer a “build, own, operate, and transfer” agreement with flexibility for local participation.

Ghana began exploring the idea of building a nuclear power plant in the 1960s, but a coup disrupted the process. The plan was revived in 2006 with support from the International Atomic Energy Agency after a severe power crisis that year.

Like Ghana, other African countries are turning to civil nuclear power to boost their electricity capacities. Burkina Faso and Uganda both signed agreements with Russia and China to build their first nuclear power plants.

Additionally, Kenya, Morocco, and Namibia are working on incorporating nuclear energy into their energy mix.

Egypt is also pursuing nuclear energy, currently constructing a 4800 MW nuclear plant with the help of Russia’s ROSATOM. Once completed, the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant will be the second on the continent, following South Africa’s Koeberg nuclear plant with a capacity of 1900 MW.