Ghana has acquired a nuclear power plant simulator to train personnel and strengthen safety preparedness ahead of its planned nuclear power programme.

The simulation centre at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) would enable personnel to practise operating a nuclear power plant and test procedures in a controlled environment before an actual plant is built.

Mr George Kofi Appiah, Manager, Localisation and Stakeholder Support Centre, Nuclear Power Institute, GAEC, said the simulator would help Ghana develop the skills needed to operate nuclear facilities safely.

He made the remarks during a study tour for media professionals organised by Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG) to improve understanding of the country’s nuclear power programme.

Mr Appiah said Ghana joined the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology programme in 2020/2021, through which it acquired the simulator to support human-capacity development.

“It is the only one in Africa and it is one of a few in the world. This simulator is actually serving the sub-region,” he said.

Mr Appiah said the centre had already been used to train Ghanaian personnel and participants from other African countries, including Nigeria and Kenya.

He explained that the simulator was not a nuclear reactor but a computer-based system that reproduced the controls and operations of a nuclear power plant.

“When you are trained with the simulator and you go onto the live plant, you don’t see any difference,” he said.

Mr Appiah said the centre would help Ghana meet international safety standards and develop the safety culture needed before establishing nuclear power plants.

He said the simulator was based on a small modular reactor (SMR), which uses smaller reactor units that can be combined to produce electricity on a larger scale.

“The NuScale design demonstrated at the centre has been upgraded from its original 50-megawatt configuration to 77 megawatts per module for actual electricity generation.

A 12-module plant could therefore generate up to 924 megawatts,” he explained.

Mr Appiah said the modular design could make maintenance easier because individual units could be taken offline without shutting down the entire plant.

“If there is an issue with one module, the rest of the modules are running,” he said.

Mr Appiah said the reactor design also included several safety features, including protective structures around the reactor and systems designed to limit the effects of an accident.

He said the system used passive safety measures, which relied on natural forces such as gravity to help control the reactor when necessary.

Mr Appiah also explained that control rods could absorb the particles that sustain the nuclear reaction and slow or stop it.

During an emergency, the rods could fall into the reactor by gravity if power was lost.

Mr Appiah said Ghana’s nuclear power programme would require a range of specialists, including nuclear engineers, reactor operators, chemists and other technical personnel.

He said the simulation centre would help build that workforce and ensure that safety remained a key part of Ghana’s preparations for nuclear power generation.