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Ghana signed an agreement with a US developer for a nuclear reactor using technology from NuScale Power. Nuclear Power Ghana and US Regnum Technology Group has signed the agreement at the US-Africa nuclear energy summit held in Nairobi. The US State Department confirmed this, as the country seeks its first atomic power plant.
Nuclear Power Ghana and Regnum Technology Group signed the agreement to deploy a NuScale VOYGR-12 small modular reactor or SMR. SMRs are smaller than today’s reactors and can be built in a factory. But there are lingering questions about whether they will ever be widespread commercially. The US is looking to promote technologies it considers to be clean energy and sell them to developing countries.
It is widely believed that nuclear energy, which generates power virtually emissions-free, is critical in the fight against climate change. Nuclear power, on the other hand, produces long-lasting nuclear waste.
NuScale is the only company with a license to build a U.S. SMR. Last year it canceled its only project in the U.S. amid rising costs. Other contenders for the plant included France’s EDF, and China National Nuclear Corporation, an energy ministry official in Ghana said in May. South Korea’s Kepco and its subsidiary Korea Hydro Nuclear Power Corporation, as well as Russia’s ROSATOM were also competing for the contract expected to span the next decade, the official said at the time.
Ghana and many other African countries are pursuing nuclear energy to achieve their economic development, energy security, and decarbonization goals. The United States must remain a strong and engaged partner, offering technical expertise and resources to ensure the successful deployment of nuclear energy across the continent, stated Aleshia Duncan, deputy assistant secretary for international cooperation at the U.S. Department of Energy.
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Regnum is a nuclear technology project developer partner with multiple private entities, including NuScale Power, the only company in the United States with an NRC-licensed small modular reactor technology. As a developer, Regnum utilizes US technology to work with countries to conceptualize holistic solutions that identify their needs and bring them to bear. Regnum provides expertise and strategic planning for the development of large-scale infrastructure projects.
