WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) – Ghana on Thursday signed an agreement with a U.S. developer for a nuclear reactor using technology from NuScale Power SMR.N, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday, 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, at a U.S.-Africa nuclear energy summit in Nairobi.

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.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

The U.S. is looking to promote technologies it considers to be clean energy and sell them to developing countries. The administration of President Joe Biden believes 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.

WHO WAS VYING TO SIGN WITH GHANA?

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.

KEY QUOTE

“Ghana and many other African countries are pursuing nuclear energy to achieve their economic development, energy security, and decarbonization goals,” said Aleshia Duncan, deputy assistant secretary for international cooperation at the U.S. Department of Energy. “It’s imperative that the United States remain a strong and engaged partner, offering technical expertise and resources to ensure the successful deployment of nuclear energy across the continent.”

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Marguerita Choy)