Ghana’s nuclear power and its potential to curtail carbon dioxide emission

The Ghana Nuclear Power Agenda is a program laid out by the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission in collaboration with the government of Ghana to guide and facilitate the installation of Ghana’s first ever nuclear power plant. The nuclear power plant is expected to generate between 1000 and 12,800 MW of electricity from its inception to the final installations in a span of 20 years. Ghana's Third National Communication (TNC) Report to the UNFCCC indicates 59 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (MtCO 2 e) emission in 2011. Between 1991 and 2011, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions grew by 20% as energy intensity of the economy rose alongside with a growing demand in industry, transport and households. If nothing is done to curtail GHG emissions from its major sources such as transport and fossil-source energy in Ghana, the looming catastrophe of the changing climate will occur faster than we imagine. Nuclear power has been cited as environmentally friendly (zero-to-low carbon emission), efficient and sustainable source of energy that works down on CO 2 emission. It offers current and future energy needs without burdening future generations with a broken environment. Using Crystal Ball simulation model, the current study estimates a cumulative increase (35%) in CO 2 emission in a span of ten years without nuclear power in Ghana’s energy mix. With the inclusion of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix, the model estimates CO 2 emission cut by 12.5% for the same period, and 18.2% in 20 years. Thus, given the same period of time, the rate of emission of CO 2 was found to be more than twice its reduction. Graphic abstract