The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy concluded the first US Africa Nuclear Energy Summit (USANES) in Accra, Ghana. The meeting was organized in collaboration with the Ghana Ministry of Energy and the Nuclear Energy Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission. The DOE said it “provided a platform for critical dialogue and international cooperation on nuclear power,” where “participants from across the continent discussed the future of nuclear power and laid the foundation for sustainable nuclear power development in the region.”
The Summit brought together participants from across Africa, various international organizations, the US, the UK, South Korea and Japan, industry, academia and civil society organisations. The DOE said attendees included senior officials from “national laboratories in the United States and across Africa.”
The summit was part of a week-long series of events hosted in Ghana, which also included a meeting of the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation (IFNEC) and a day dedicated to youth engagement. “The outcome of this summit must spur the development of nuclear technology for power generation in Africa, as the application of this technology has the potential to expand our economies and improve the lives of our people,” the president said. of Ghana Nana Addo, Dankwa Akufo- Addo. Speech at IFNEC gala dinner. “As African countries strive to meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement, nuclear power offers a sustainable solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions while meeting the growing energy demands of our populations.”
US Ambassador to Ghana Virginia E. Palmer said nuclear power can lead the clean energy revolution, enhance energy access and diversity of supply, and fuel industrial growth in energy-intensive sectors. βNuclear energy development requires committed partners. The United States is your 100-year partner in nuclear energy,β he added. The DOE plans to host two annual summits on the continent “to continue the momentum and deliver on the promise of nuclear energy technology for nations and communities in Africa.”
Ghana’s Senior Presidential Adviser Yaw Osafo-Maafo, speaking at the opening of the summit, said research and practice had proved beyond doubt that nuclear technology could provide the necessary “green” energy for accelerated economic growth. “It is necessary to emphasize the importance of adopting a minimum cost alternative technology with the characteristics of shorter construction time and also lends itself to Easy Grid Integration. This will maximize the benefits of the adoption of nuclear technology by African countries,” he said.
He urged the Forum of Nuclear Regulators in Africa (FNBRA) regulators to quickly strengthen their mandates to support the development of nuclear programmes. He said FNBRA should also look into the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization initiative to bridge the capability gap and expedite the licensing of nuclear power plants in a safe, secure and protected manner.
Dr K Michael Goff, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear at the US State Department, said nuclear technology is the largest source of electricity in the US, which is set to triple by 2050. He said nuclear power creates high-quality jobs. quality, provided stable, clean energy for communities and industries and enhanced energy security. “These tasks are performed effortlessly by large reactors with little or no negative impact on the environment,” he added. He noted that the US is developing and deploying a variety of technologies, including generation 4 reactors and small modular reactors.
The US summit followed the Second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in July, in which nuclear technologies took center stage. The business program, “Cooperation in Science & Technology” started with a discussion on “Nuclear Technologies for the Development of the African Region”. The summit attracted delegations from 49 African countries, 17 of which were led by their heads of state. Rosatom has nuclear cooperation agreements with many African countries, including Burkina Faso, Burundi, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa Sudan, Tanzania. Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is building a four-unit nuclear power plant in Egypt and a science and technology center in Rwanda.
Image: Representatives from the US and Ghana at the recent US Africa Nuclear Energy Summit