Following the Presidential committee’s report (Adzei-Bekoe’s Report), Cabinet decided to include nuclear energy into the energy mix in 2008, and subsequently, nuclear energy was included in the national energy policy and strategy in 2010. The government of Ghana declared its intention to pursue a nuclear power programme for peaceful purposes through a letter submitted to the IAEA in 2012.
The Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organisation (GNPPO) was then established to oversee the implementation of the programme and the development of the necessary nuclear infrastructure for the successful introduction of nuclear energy into the energy mix. Currently, the GNPPO sits at the Ministry of Energy.
National working groups were at this point established to work on the different nuclear infrastructural issues.
In a bid to speed up nuclear infrastructure development work, the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) acting on behalf of the Government of Ghana and the GNPPO, set up the Nuclear Power Centre (NPC) at the National Nuclear Research Institute (NNRI) of GAEC in 2014 to provide technical support to the GNPPO.
The Centre was upgraded to the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI) in 2015. The NPI has since then been working to promote the development of the required nuclear infrastructure for Ghana’s nuclear power programme.
Vision
Assuring long-term energy security through a safe and sustainable peaceful nuclear energy
programme
Mission
To promote the delivery of safe, clean, efficient and reliable nuclear energy in the country and to develop the human resource capacity for sustainable nuclear power management and operational capacity.
Mandate
The core mandate of the institute is to support and develop capability to ensure the delivery of a sustainable nuclear energy program in a safe, secure and efficient manner, as well as developing the required skilled local nuclear energy workforce. In addition, the NPI is also mandated to:
• Promote nuclear knowledge and technology;
• Support planning and management of peaceful uses of nuclear energy;
• Provide advice on technology selection for new plants to be constructed;
• Conduct research and development in nuclear power technology;
• Support nuclear power operational research;
• Advice on nuclear power investment and financing options;
• Support nuclear power plant operation management;
• Provide technical service, consultation and new energy development
