The debate over which energy generating alternatives would best suit Ghana's long term needs, given the dire challenges engendered in recent times following the failings of the Akosombo Dam, is about resolved. The government has opted for nuclear energy as the best alternative source of power in a move to avert any future energy crisis in the country. The Daily Graphic of Wednesday, April 11 reports that the decision to go for nuclear was taken after consultations between Cabinet and officials of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission according. Consequently, the government would hold a press conference on April 19, 2007 to outline the measures it would take to bring the project to the stream, Graphic quotes its sources as saying. It said the government would engage in intensive diplomacy to convince the international community that the nuclear energy would be used only for peaceful purposes and not to develop nuclear weapons. According to the source, the government would have to sign about 10 conventions before the country could be certified to use nuclear energy to generate power. On the domestic front, it said the government would educate Ghanaians on the benefits of nuclear energy and the need to opt for it as an alternative source of energy. The source said the initial investment in the purchase of nuclear energy reactors was high but the operation and maintenance cost was lower than that of hydro. It said nuclear reactors could store fuel for between 10 and 15 years and indicated that nuclear energy was environmentally friendly. The source said that the decision for Ghana, a developing country to opt for nuclear energy now was long overdue since developed countries and other growing economies such as China, Malaysia and India had been using the technology to generate power for their domestic and industrial needs for years now. It said besides the generation of power, nuclear energy could be used to remove salt from sea water to make it pure for consumption. Source: Daily Graphic