The quest to enhance Ghana’s industrial transformation will be illusive if a reliable baseload is not secured to shoulder the energy burden of industries.
President Akufo Addo’s quest for adding 1000 MW of nuclear energy to the country’s energy mix is a testament to country’s resolve, to achieve reliable and clean energy access in line with the sustainable development goals 7 and 14.
This has been lauded by many stakeholders especially the Association of Ghana Industries whose desire for competitive cost of energy to boost businesses could soon become a reality.
For now the country has an installed capacity of a little over 5000MW but is only depending on over 4000MW of the total amount.
In 2023 the Association of Ghana Industries-Energy Service Centre (AGI-ESC),in its quest to cut rising energy costs for industries, launched a network to promote the use of renewable energy to reduce cost of energy usage within Ghana’s industrial sector.
The aim is to provide a platform for industries in Ghana to improve their energy efficiency, thereby reducing their energy costs and carbon emissions.
According to the CEO of the AGI Seth Twum Akwaboah who was speaking at the annual nuclear workshop for the media in Accra on Tuesday, the current cost of power to industry at 19 cents per kilowatt hour is over 30 percent of production cost to industry.
“For now cost of energy constitutes a substantial part of productivity cost and is a disincentive to members of the AGI which hampers growth’’ he said
The panacea to Ghana’s energy security and affordability challenges is to achieve a perfect energy mix to provide a reliable baseload for industrial growth. There is no gainsay that adding nuclear will not only lower energy cost per kilowatt hour for businesses, but will also ultimately lead to a reduction in total production cost.
Statistics indicate that the addition of nuclear energy could massively become an economic game changer and increase the ability of businesses to employ more of the country’s labour force
The relentless pursuit of nuclear energy by Ghana is indeed welcoming news for members of the AGI. For now the country has scaled phase 1 of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA’s) infrastructural requirement needs, and now at the vendor selection stage where the decision to choose a particular technology will be made by the end of 2024.
Stakeholders still await the government’s plan for the nuclear programme which is also yet to decide on whether to go for a large nuclear reactor or small nuclear reactor also known as SMR. The Nuclear Power Ghana has assured that having evaluated proposals from five nuclear technology countries, the final decisions of choice will be made by the end of the year.
It must however be noted that if Ghana really wants to embark on a massive transformation of the energy sector to boost its industrialization agenda, it may have to prioritise a large scale modular reactor that can achieve the 1000MW target of government and adequately distribute power efficiently to industries.
Based on familiarisation visits by some energy stakeholders including the AGI and staff of the NPG, it was observed that the United States of America and Japan present a perfect model that can be replicated in Ghana.
One of the major goals for setting up nuclear energy facilities is to create several offshoot industries that may increase the employment rate of locals.
For instance the US module sprouts up many other industries including welding, food and beverage, garments, and supply chain businesses among several others that have the propensity to bring in many people by way of employment on site around the power plant.
These gains may however elude the country if it decides to go for a small modular reactor which is normally factory manufactured and brought on site for installation.
Besides this, a large scale reactor with the right operation would be able to generate power to meet the affordability and reliability needs of members of the AGI who are currently suffocating under the high cost of power challenge and cannot optimize their potential to be able to employ the desired work force and contribute meaningfully to economic growth.
For instance the service industry is currently contributing significantly lower to GDP as a result of the sustained power rationing the country is going through.
Last but not least the choice of a Large Scale Reactor based nuclear plant can boost Ghana’s position as an exporter of power to neighbouring countries and elsewhere within the West African sub region and beyond. For now apart from from Egypt and South Africa no other African country is aggressively pursuing nuclear power potential and so going for a large scale plant could make the country a hub for training and capacity building in West Africa.
The argument of limited and absence of financing options because the world bank and the IMF do not support nuclear financing may no more hold in the near future.
The executive director of the NPG, Steven Yamoah has revealed in an interview that discussions are ongoing for the Bretton Woods institutions to review their positions not to fund nuclear projects. He said as these institutions commit to energy transition and climate change targets they are now rethinking their initial stance to support projects that minimize carbon footprints and support environmental protection projects with emphasis on nuclear energy projects.
“There is also high level discussions to establish an International Bank for Nuclear Infrastructure to provide a sustainable means of funding for nuclear power projects”, Yamoah stated
In conclusion, Ghana has made the right choice to enhance its energy supply base with nuclear power and the focus on industry will certainly reap the desired results. The AGI should be supported by way of a significant drop in cost of energy, provision of secure, reliable and clean power to enhance their production in a sustainable manner and to solve its energy trilemma concerns
Reporting by Emmanuel Aboagye-Wiafe
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