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The U.S. Embassy in collaboration with the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) has commissioned Sub-Saharan Africa’s first NuScale Energy Exploration (E2) Centre in Ghana.
The E2 Centre, hosted by the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, was funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) programme in partnership with the International Science and Technology Center and NuScale Power. The Centre, as a learning environment, will use simulated nuclear power plant scenarios to teach nuclear science and engineering.
It would also serve as a training center for nuclear power technicians and operators to enable Ghana to develop a skilled nuclear power workforce. Ghana’s selection as a regional training hub and centre of excellence for the sub-Saharan African region was announced in 2023 as part of the United States’ $1.75 million investment in Ghana’s nuclear workforce development.
Madam Virginia E. Palmer, U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, said the project exemplified the strong partnership and collaboration between the U.S. and Ghana. She said the Centre represented a leap forward in efforts to enhance energy security and sustainability in Ghana. Madam Palmer said reliable energy access was fundamental to the economic progress and growth of every society, adding that, nuclear power offered a level of reliable and efficient supply that other clean technologies could not always match.
She stated that the United States was at the forefront of developing new and advanced nuclear technologies that held great promise for addressing challenges faced by many regions in Africa. “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to partner with Ghana on this project because of Ghana’s regional leadership in civil nuclear development.”
“The launch of this simulator is just the beginning, and I am confident that our continued collaboration will yield even greater achievements in the years to come,” he added. Professor Samuel Boakye Dampare, Director- General of GAEC, said the initiative meant that Ghana was getting closer to the actualization of having nuclear power in the country.
“This means that we are preparing ourselves in terms of capacity building, workforce development, so that when the time is right for us to go nuclear, that is to have the actual plant here, we will already have the capabilities and the skills to do that,” he said. Since 2022, the United States and Ghana have been working together under the U.S. Department of State’s Foundational Infrastructure for the Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology programme.
The programme includes support for workshops, webinars, and workforce development support for next-generation Ghanaian nuclear experts. In 2021, the United States and Ghana signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation, which was to improve cooperation on nuclear energy and strengthen long-standing diplomatic and economic relationship.
Source: GNA
