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The three core Mano River Union countries are confronted by major decisions that will shape their future direction, from potential progress on major resources plays led by Guinea’s huge Simandou iron ore mining and infrastructure development and Liberia’s struggles with major investor Arcelor Mittal to Sierra Leone’s political crisis. All three have searching questions of governance and equity for their populations, writes Jon Marks with correspondents in Freetown, Conakry and Monrovia.

The West African Transco CLSG transmission network is working to build a second 243MW line, begin energy trade with indebted Liberia and integrate C&I customers and renewable energy sources into the sub-regional network that covers Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

The management of Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) has returned to national hands, following the end of the five-year Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC-Liberia) programme, which had been in charge of the state utility’s management since 2018.

Construction work on the Gee River mini-hydroelectric power project is expected to start by the end of 2022, according to project company Enco Engineering Consultants.

The government is expected pay debts owed by Liberia Electricity Corporation to Côte d’Ivoire, clearing the way for Liberia to start receiving power through the Côte d’Ivoire-Liberia-Sierra Leone-Guinea (CLSG) transmission line. The move comes as Monrovia seeks a new approach to LEC’s management and funds to repair the Mount Coffee hydroelectric plant.

Liberia has suspended import duties on some solar components in efforts to stimulate renewable energy development.

The Rural and Renewable Energy Agency (RREA) has issued an invitation for bids for the design, supply and installation of hydro-electro-mechanical equipment, 33kV evacuation line, substations and associated civil works for the 9.4MW Gbedin Falls hydroelectric plant

The government is continuing direct negotiations for 33 offshore blocks (LB-1 to LB-33) in the Harper and Liberia basins, in a process open until end-May.

The commercial use of thermolysis or pyrolysis to convert organic waste into biofuels, syngas or pure hydrogen is still experimental in Africa, although the underlying technology is relatively well-established elsewhere. Most of the 22 operating biogas power plants recorded in African Energy Live Data use other methods. Early adopters of the technology include the Ford Silverton plant in Pretoria, H2-Industries and Oak Group Holdings in Egypt, Ghana’s Kumasi Technical University and the British Nigerian Pyrogenesys-led consortium. Success for any one of them will open wide new commercial opportunities, while also helping to address pressing environmental concerns.

The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has asked US firms to submit proposals for a feasibility study for the 225kV Côte d’Ivoire-Liberia transmission interconnection reinforcement project. The agency has set a deadline of 26 January for submissions for the study into a 650km transmission line from San Pedro in Côte d’Ivoire to Buchanan in Liberia – plus associated substation and distribution equipment.

The World Bank Group (WBG) has predicted gross domestic product growth of 3.6% in Liberia this year, rising to an average of 5.2% in 2022-25, driven by an expected recovery in the mining sector and a rise in commodity prices.

The announcement that ArcelorMittal had finally agreed with President George Weah’s government to expand the Luxembourg-based steelmaker’s iron mining and logistics operations in Liberia was especially ill-timed for Conakry, coming days after Colonel Mamady Doumbouya’s coup d’état, which removed President Alpha Condé.

Construction at the 2.5MW Kaiha II hydroelectric power (HEP) plant began in July, Rural and Renewable Energy Agency (RREA) project deputy executive director Stephen Potter told African Energy. Construction of both the plant and its associated transmission and distribution infrastructure is due to be complete by July 2023.

Construction at the 2.5MW Kaiha II hydropower plant in Liberia got under way in July, project deputy executive director Stephen Potter of the Rural and Renewable Energy Agency tells African Energy Live Data.

Officially, Conakry and Monrovia are lined up to develop a new transport corridor that will bring iron ore from the Guinean north-east for export via a railway corridor to port facilities in Liberia. The governments have a transit agreement in place and are carrying on with what will be a major project for the cash-strapped states.