Ramana M.V., Agyapong Priscilla

Ghana has been seen as a potential market for small nuclear reactors and Ghanaian nuclear officials have, on occasion, expressed an interest in such reactors. However, Ghana seems to be heading towards procuring a reactor from Russia with a capacity of 1000–1200 MW. A power plant with such a large power generation capacity is not appropriate to Ghana’s limited electricity grid or its financial circumstances. This paper examines the likely reasons for this focus and argues that despite greater government interest in setting up nuclear reactors, Ghana’s nuclear establishment may not have the political clout to force through the purchase of a reactor.