The deal, announced by the U.S. State Department, involves Nuclear Power Ghana and Regnum Technology Group, who will install a NuScale VOYGR-12 small modular reactor (SMR).
The agreement was reached during the U.S.-Africa nuclear energy summit in Nairobi, moving Ghana closer to its goal of developing atomic power.
SMRs, designed to be smaller and factory-built compared to traditional reactors, face ongoing concerns about their commercial viability and widespread adoption.
The U.S. aims to push clean energy technologies, like nuclear power, to developing nations as part of its climate change strategy.
The Biden administration sees nuclear energy as vital in reducing carbon emissions since it generates power with virtually no emissions.
However, nuclear power also comes with the challenge of long-lasting nuclear waste. NuScale, the only licensed U.S. company to build an SMR, canceled its sole project last year due to escalating costs.
Several international companies had been vying for the contract to build Ghana’s nuclear power plant.
Among them were France’s EDF and China National Nuclear Corporation, according to a Ghanaian energy ministry official in May.
South Korea’s Kepco and its subsidiary Korea Hydro Nuclear Power Corporation, along with Russia’s ROSATOM, were also in the running for the decade-long project.
“Ghana and many other African nations are turning to nuclear energy to meet their economic growth, energy security, and decarbonisation objectives,” Aleshia Duncan, deputy assistant secretary for international cooperation at the U.S. Department of Energy, stated.
“It’s crucial for the United States to stay actively involved, providing technical expertise and resources to support the successful deployment of nuclear energy throughout the continent,” she added.