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No country has industrialized without using nuclear energy in the generation mix, since it is a cheap energy source.
Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo, Director of Renewable and Alternative Energies, Ministry of Energy, who said this, explained that nuclear energy, among all the sources and processes of power generation, protects the environment and is a sustainable way to generate energy from consumption.
He said it was less expensive to operate after construction and could provide power to many outlets, as well as jobs for many people in the power generation value chain and beyond.
He gave the explanation Tuesday at a two-day workshop organized by Nuclear Power Ghana, Volta River Authority, Bui Power Authority and the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), to sensitize journalists on energy information, the pros and cons of nuclear energy and the need for them to specialize in energy reporting.
The workshop was on the theme: “Ghana’s Power Generation Plan and Current Options to Accelerate Industrial Development.
Mr. Ahiataku-Togobo said that some countries, including Ghana, were generating electricity from oil at 12 cents per kilowatt-hour when they could generate the same electricity from nuclear power at just four cents per kilowatt-hour.
Given that nuclear power took about 15 years to get up and running, he said, it was prudent for Ghana to adopt it in the shortest time possible.
“Anyone who is against Ghana’s nuclear agenda is clearly against Ghana’s move towards industrialization.
Any country that wants to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals needs nuclear energy, ”he said.
Dr. Stephen Yamoah, Executive Director of Nuclear Power Ghana, said that Ghana managed to go through the 19 milestone processes in developing a national infrastructure for nuclear power.
Therefore, the country was in the process of looking for suppliers to take an initiative.
Speaking about the misconceptions related to nuclear power generation and use, he said that people believe that nuclear power is associated with bombs and has serious repercussions on the environment.
He said that was a fallacy, and explained that it was the safest and safest source of energy, as its production and waste management were strictly regulated.
Affail Monney, GJA President, said journalists’ greatest need was capacity building to enable them to change the profile of all sectors, including the energy sector.
He advised the workshop participants to continue expanding their knowledge in the energy sector, especially nuclear energy, bearing in mind that education is a process and not a destination.
He assured that the GJA was willing and ready to support any journalist to contribute meaningfully to the energy sector with impactful stories.
Mr. Ato Kwamina Dadzie, Multimedia News Editor, said that nuclear energy has a higher energy density than chemical energy, such as oil, adding that small amounts of nuclear fuel could produce exponentially greater amounts of electrical energy.
Nuclear power has caused far fewer accidental deaths per unit of energy than other major forms of power generation, he said, adding that nuclear reactors were designed to withstand the impacts of a large aircraft.
Although nuclear power plants were expensive and difficult to build, Dadzie said they paid for themselves over time and contributed greatly to industrialization.
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