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Media reports in October that the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) had signed an agreement to finance a 50MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Sierra Leone are inaccurate, African Energy understands. IFC spokeswoman Laura MacInnis told African Energy that “at this time, IFC is only engaged in an assessment to understand the viability of solar PV as an energy option for the country”.

The governments of Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone have signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to share experience in oil and gas exploration.

Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate has suspended the country’s fourth licensing round following the appointment of a new director-general. Timothy Kabba was appointed in August to replace Raymond Kargbo. “Mr Kabba brings fresh perspectives to the current fourth Sierra Leone licensing round and in step with the government’s New Direction initiative, he has decided to expand the dialogue and enter a period of industry consultation.

The government has extended the closing date for the country’s fourth licensing round from 28 June to 27 September following an extended election period in March resulting from a second-round run-off between the two main political parties. Getech Group chief executive Jonathan Copus said “a broad spectrum of international oil majors and large independents” had attended data rooms in Freetown, London and Houston since the launch of the round in London on 25 January.

The Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) announced on 18 April that it had launched a “massive disconnection exercise” in response to customers’ failure to pay their bills. “This has come as a result of a huge debt owed to the authority by government ministries, departments, agencies and business houses,” an EDSA notice said. “The authority cannot sustain adequate supply of electricity to customers without the much-needed finance to pay for power produced by Electricity Generation and Transmission Company and other independent power producers (Addax and Aggreko).”

UK-based Globeleq announced on 7 March that construction was now under way at the 57MW Western Area Power Generation Project at Kissy Dock in Freetown. President Ernest Bai Koroma attended a ground-breaking ceremony at the site on 2 March. Project company Salone Power is owned by UK development finance institution CDC Group, Globeleq and Lebanese-registered Tempus Constant Qualitas Power (TCQ Power), which was founded in 2011 and is based in Abu Dhabi.

The Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone (PDSL) launched the country’s fourth offshore licensing round in London on 25 January, hoping to capitalise on recent oil and gas discoveries in Senegal and Ghana. Data rooms have opened in Freetown and the UK, with the support of Henley-based ERCL. Interested companies must first prequalify to submit a bid, and bids are due by noon on 28 June.PDSL director-general Raymond Kargbo told the launch event existing seismic showed Sierra Leone had the same geological structures found in Senegal and Ghana’s Jubilee field, and he was confident that Sierra Leone would become a hydrocarbons producer.

Turkey’s Karpowership announced on 29 December that the 100MW Karadeniz Powership Dogan Bey has arrived in Sierra Leone. The ship will provide 30MW of baseload power for a period of five years, fed into the grid at Kingtom substation in Freetown. Production is expected to start this month.

Sierra Leone’s parliament voted unanimously on 29 November to ratify a 25-year power purchase agreement and implementation agreement for the 143MW Bumbuna II hydropower project, following the signing of the documents on 4 August 2017. Sponsors Joule Africa and local partner Energy Services Company are close to selecting an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor and the equity and debt financing is underway.

Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Energy is inviting companies to prequalify for the rural electrification component of the Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea (CLSG) Electricity Networks Interconnection Project. Works under the contract will include construction of 33/0.415kV distribution networks in 29 rural communities, as well as the supply, installation and commissioning of single and triple phase STS prepayment meters and distribution transformers, and supply, installation and commissioning of 4,800 street lights in the same communities.

The government of Sierra Leone on 4 August signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Joule Africa for the long-mooted Bumbuna II scheme. Under the terms of the agreement, Joule Africa and its local partner Energy Services Company (Esco) will jointly own the new Seli Hydropower project company, which will build, own and operate an extension to the existing 50MW Bumbuna I hydropower plant, adding a further 143MW of power capacity. Construction of Bumbuna II is anticipated to start by mid-2018, with operations forecast to start four years later.

Solar Era Holdings has invited bids by 16 June for the engineering, procurement and construction of the first phase of a 25MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in the central city of Bo. The locally based independent power producer, owned by UK-based Africa Growth and Energy Solutions (AGES), is developing the capacity in two phases. Phase 1 is a 5MW grid-connected PV facility, which will cost an estimated $9m. Phase 2 is a 20MW facility expected to be a hybrid solar-diesel-battery plant.

The Ministry of Energy has signed an implementing agreement with German renewables developer infinity-E for the engineering, procurement and construction of a 6MW solar photovoltaic power plant at Newton, in the Western Area, some 38km east of Freetown. The project site lies along the route of the power line from the Bumbuna dam, and power will be supplied to the capital, though there are also plans to supply the town, named after the 18th century British campaigner for abolition of the slave trade John Newton.

Joule Africa has named Paul Kunert as its new chief executive as the power developer builds its senior team ahead of the construction of Sierra Leone’s largest infrastructure project, the Bumbuna II hydro scheme. Kunert, with 20 years’ African power experience gained at CDC, Actis and Globeleq, joined Joule Africa in September 2016 as chief operating officer.Joule Africa was co-founded by entrepreneurs Mark Green and Andrew Cavaghan, who will continue as executive chairmen, devoting their time to new business origination, stakeholder management, equity fundraising, and strategy, the company said.

The government launched a project on 13 February for the rehabilitation and extension of the Bo-Kenema Electricity Distribution System, with financial support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the UK Department for International Development. Construction contractors have not yet been selected.The project, which was approved in December, forms part of the government’s Post Ebola Recovery Programme. It will upgrade and extend a 33kV electricity line between Bo and Kenema and build new substations to improve supply.