Despite its large oil and gas reserves, Ghana still requires a long-lasting alternative to help it meet its energy needs, writes Emmanuel Yartey
The projection by the Ghanaian government to increase power supply by 2015, because of the discovery of huge deposits of natural gas at the Jubilee Offshore Oil Field is welcome news, but it must also be remembered that the gas resource is finite and therefore a better alternative is required to act as a long-lasting complement; this is where nuclear power enters the equation.
Ghana’s vice president, John Dramani Mahama, announced recently that the country would increase power generation to ensure reliable power supply and become a net exporter of power in the West Africa sub-region by 2015.
Solar and biomass were other sources of energy mentioned by the vice president to be explored, but he was silent on nuclear energy.
Nuclear energy originates from the splitting of uranium atoms in a process called fission. At the power plant, the fission process is used to generate heat for producing steam, which is used by a turbine to generate electricity.
Ghana’s electricity consumption has been growing at 10-15 per cent per annum for the last two decades and it has been projected that the average demand growth over the next decade will be about 6 per cent per year.
According to energy experts, electricity accounts for about 11 per cent of the nation’s final energy consumption and, with a customer base of approximately 1 to 4 million, it has been estimated that 45-47 per cent of Ghanaians, including 15-17 per cent of the rural population, have access to grid electricity with a per capita electricity consumption of 358 kWh.
All regional capitals have been connected to the grid. Electricity usage in the rural areas is estimated to be higher in the coastal (27 per cent) and forest (19 per cent) ecological zones than in the savannah (4.3 per cent) areas of the country.
To diversify the power sector away from a complete reliance on hydroelectric power towards thermal fuel sources is a positive idea for the government of Ghana to resolve.
The hydroelectric power plants in the Eastern Region at Akosombo and Kpong, which over the years have been the main source of power generation in the country, are prone to seasonal variations in water levels, creating periods of severe electricity crisis such as the experiences the country went through in 1983, 1993, and 2006-07.
According to the experts, these trying moments enabled the nation’s major power house, Volta River Authority (VRA), to build a number of diesel- and crude oil-fired thermal plants in 1997 to meet peak power demand and to provide backup in the event of occasional shortfalls in hydroelectric power.
But thermal power generation has proven to be expensive in Ghana with the high price of crude oil on the world markets. The idea that the under-construction Ghana Gas Plant in Takoradi in the Western Region will help increase the electricity supply is laudable, but policymakers must complement the gas factor with nuclear power, which is sustainable.
Some energy experts are playing down the idea of nuclear power saying that it is unreasonable to delve into nuclear at this time since the country has discovered huge deposits of natural gas. But they must know that leadership is all about thinking into the future, assessing options and planning properly for the future to avoid being taken by events.
There are those whose abhorrence to nuclear power stems from certain disasters associated with it in the past, with one recent example being the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear energy disaster in Japan. But Professor Edward Akaho, executive director of Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), noted that nuclear energy has proven itself to be a viable technology, having been used by different countries for more than 50 years, and its accompanying allied technologies have the potential to promote economic development in the country.
In 2007, when Ghana experienced another energy crisis, the then President John Kufuor inaugurated a Nuclear Power Committee whose responsibility was to prepare pre-feasibility studies on the country’s chances of expanding its power generation by including nuclear energy. After close to five months of work, the committee, chaired by former chairman of the Council of States Professor Daniel Adjei Bekoe, presented to the government a roadmap for adopting nuclear power by 2018.
Since then, no mention has been made of this nuclear power roadmap, while the gas resource is continually trumpeted.
In early 2011, Professor Akaho told privately-owned weekly newspaper Public Agenda, “Atomic energy experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are expected in the country soon to discuss the location characteristics of the proposed Ghana nuclear electricity plant.
“The visit will provide a further boost to the country’s agenda to explore nuclear energy for electricity generation by 2018 to augment the existing source of power generation in the country.”
The IAEA, the world’s regulatory body responsible for nuclear and atomic energy activities, promotes the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear technologies.
With regard to the implementation of the roadmap that would lead to Ghana producing nuclear electricity by 2018, there is practically nothing left for the experts to do for now, but what remains is a sustained political will to carry the project through.
Now that Ghana is producing oil and gas in commercial quantities, the economy will expand alongside a growing population, but there can be little doubt that the country will face major challenges in providing the required energy in a reliable and sustainable manner.
Public Agenda reported, “The peak demand for power for the domestic market is projected to 3,000MW and 4,000MW in 2015 and 2020 respectively.
“The existing installed capacity for electricity generation is 2,044MW made up of 58 per cent hydro, 37 per cent thermal plants and 5 per cent diesel generators. The capacity would have to double by 2020 in order to meet the peak power demand, and available renewable energy resources other than hydro can at best provide 10 per cent of the national demand at competitive prices by 2020.
“The total available hydro power potential, including the under developed sites, could only continue up to 44 per cent of total demand by 2020,” continued the report.
“Some 30 countries around the world, including South Africa, Brazil and Mexico, generate electricity through 440 nuclear plants. Nigeria has also identified four locations for its future nuclear electricity plant.”
It is, therefore, high time the Ghanaian government considered the nuclear power option and begin to implement the nuclear roadmap before it regrets its present lethargic posture in years to come.
