Russia explores opportunities for sustainable energy in Ghana
Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation Rosatom is exploring opportunities for Ghana to boost its energy security through diversification to guarantee sustainable social and economic growth.
The company said, “Nuclear energy development is an essential aspect of the solution for Ghana to deal with its energy shortfall which represents a considerable impediment for the country to reach its ambitious goals laid out in its National Development Plan (NDP)”, said Viktor Polikarpov, Rosatom’s Vice-President for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Nuclear energy and technologies are able to give an impetus to Ghanaian industrial and infrastructure development,” according to Polikarpov, who spoke on his company’s best practices with participants of the Ghana Industrial Summit and Exhibition (GISE 2017) conference, in Moscow which embraced international experts and high-level governmental officials.
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“Rosatom welcomes the country’s plans to develop its atomic programme and is open to assist Ghana in its nuclear endeavors”, added Polikarpov.
During the technical sessions experts agreed that nuclear energy had a future in the Ghanaian energy mix, as the country’s existing overdependence on hydro and thermal power plants could not meet growing demand from households and businesses.
Ghana’s annual energy demand is set to grow by 10 to 15 % and unfortunately supply generally does not meet this rapidly growing pace. The expanding industrial sector, rapid urbanisation, the growth of the middle class, and growing incomes, together with overall population growth, have altogether become major drivers of increasing electricity demand.
A delegation of Rosatom representatives from various fields of expertise demonstrated the company’s solutions for nuclear power development for emerging countries.
The presenters focused on various topics relevant to Ghana, including; localisation, skills development, technology transfer as well stakeholder engagement among other things and
participants became familiar with nuclear innovations through the company’s innovative virtual tour of one of Russia’s Nuclear Power Plants (NPP).
“In order for Ghana to achieve a balanced energy mix, the country should consider all available sustainable sources of energy. Solar, wind, hydro and nuclear power to complement and reinforce one another to form a «green square», which will essentially become the base for the world’s future carbon-free energy mix.
“A sustainable energy mix with the inclusion of nuclear power will contribute immensely to the national economy and will make local business more competitive and attractive on the global market,” concluded Polikarpov.
The Summit and Exhibition – one of the key industrial event attended by international experts and high-level governmental officials, was organised by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Source: GNA