MESTI, GAEC collaborate to Establish Space Science and Technology Centre, Nuclear Power Plant
By Ivy Agbozo:
The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation in collaboration with the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission has established the Ghana Space Science and Technology Centre. The institute was established to aid in advancing the country through the use of Science and Technology.
The revelation was made when the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation – Prof. Frimpong Boateng’s keynote address was read on his behalf at the durbar that was held on Friday by GAEC to finalize the African Scientific Renaissance Day Celebration.
In the address, the Minister stated that “The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), in collaboration with the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, has made huge strides by establishing the Ghana Space Science and Technology Centre. The emphasis now must be on continuous education, training and collaboration in order to take advantage of the many applications in agriculture, water resources, urban development, mineral prospecting, environment, drought and flood forecasting, ocean resources and disaster management.”
He urged all research institutions, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) inclusive to foster close collaboration at the institute levels in order to maximize research inputs.
He reiterated that the relevance of the entire collaboration between all research institutions was to ensure that science and technology are being used to improve the economic development of the country.
The minister also announced the setting up of a nuclear power plant that the government of Ghana and the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission have collaborated to construct which would be used to generate electricity.
According to the Minister, government is also expected to partner private, local and foreign investors to develop large scale strategic anchor industries to serve as growth poles for the economy as captured in the NPP’s manifesto.
‘We are aware of the energy requirements for such ambitious projects. We are therefore considering all energy sources, including nuclear energy. We hope the construction and operation of a nuclear power plant would not only serve as a base load that gives us sustainable energy and stable tariff regime but also deepen our science and technology and lead to the development of a High-Tech Industry in Ghana,’ he added.
The nuclear power plant is currently being worked on and the project is expected to be launched in 2029 or 2030. It is expected to act as a subsidiary to the current sources of electricity generation which is thermal and hydro energy.
He added that nuclear energy has numerous numbers of benefits as compared to hydro and thermal energy respectively. He added that the amount of energy to be produced by the nuclear power plant is larger as compared to the other forms of energy too.
He urged all scientists to be on their toes and do all they can to enable the sustainable development of the country as they celebrated the African Renaissance.
Source: ritefmonline.org
