The Quest for Nuclear Power in Ghana

The authors have detailed a comprehensive history of GAEC, its mission and its impact so far on the peaceful applications of nuclear techniques in Ghana. The book has also attempted to explain reactor engineering in layman’s language, such that the average reader could comprehend how a nuclear reactor works – the structure and functions of the various buildings comprising a reactor, the controls, the fuel assemblies, and how the reactor goes critical for power to be produced and harnessed in the form of steam that is used to turn turbines to produce electricity.

The book also discusses issues of nuclear reactor safety, management, and the eventual safe return of spent nuclear fuel and waste generated to the supplier country. Most importantly, the authors have described a new reactor concept – the Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). SMRs have greater simplicity of design, economy of series production largely in factories, short construction times, and reduced siting costs. SMRs are proliferation resistant, affordable, mobile, may be built independently or as modules in a larger complex, with capacity added incrementally as more financing is secured. Furthermore, they can be designed to be placed below ground level, giving high resistance to terrorist threats.

The authors are thus recommending these modern nuclear power plants for consideration by Ghana and other African countries. Hence, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s vision of utilising nuclear power in our energy mix to consolidate our industrial take-off will finally be realised.