By: ESI Africa

“The Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism (MICAT), has announced the dedication of the country’s first solar power plant, a 20MW solar farm located in Grand Bassa County, scheduled for October 2025,” the The New Dawn Liberia publication reported.

The 20MW solar farm is part of the World Bank-funded Regional Emergency Solar Power Intervention Project (RESPITE), which aims to expand access to reliable and affordable electricity across West Africa.

Under this initiative, Liberia is receiving a total financing package of about $96 million, covering: 

• the solar project in Grand Bassa County,
• the expansion of the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant, and
• other technical assistance for the energy sector.

Liberia solar project to fill the gap by hydropower deficit

The project will assist in reducing the country’s dependence on hydropower, which is vulnerable to seasonal water shortages.

Information Minister Jerolinmek Matthew Piah said on Thursday, 11 September, during the Ministry of Information’s regular press briefing in Monrovia, that the project, launched by President Joseph Boakai in October 2024, is being executed by ICC Offshore and funded by the World Bank.

Piah said major works, including steel erection and the installation of solar panels, are already underway in line with the project’s timeline.

Once completed, the solar farm will mark Liberia’s first large-scale renewable energy facility. 

Piah also provided updates on repairs of the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant.

Turbine One at the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant, which has been out of service since July 2021, is currently undergoing repairs by Sinohydro, he said. 

The unit is expected to be restored by May 2026, with a generation capacity of 22MW. 

Increasing electricity access

Also, the Liberia Electricity Sector Strengthening and Access Project (LESSAP) is connecting 80 communities in Brewerville City and District #1, Montserrado County, as well as other parts of the country.

He said the project is 80% complete, with customer metering in progress. 

“It is expected to close by December 2025, after which phase two will begin to connect additional communities.”

Additionally, said Piah, the Rural Electricity Expansion Project under the CLSG (Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea) initiative is set to electrify 20 towns and install 48 streetlights in Rivercess County. 

Extra streetlights will also be placed in surrounding areas.

Upping renewable energy output in Liberia

The Liberia Project Dashboard (LPD) said previously that the World Bank’s RESPITE project will “rapidly increase grid-connected renewable energy capacity and strengthen regional integration in participating countries.”

“The project will finance the procurement, installation and operation of approximately 106MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) and Battery Energy and Storage Systems (BESS), 41MW expansion of hydro capacity, and the procurement and installation of related distribution and transmission interventions across four countries: Chad, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo.”

The LPD said the project will form part of the World Bank’s response to the energy crisis in the region and aims to: 

• Reduce the fiscal impact of rising oil prices and provide fiscal space for countries to address food crisis resulting from geopolitical developments in Ukraine,
• Increase the supply of affordable and clean energy on the grid to alleviate current power supply crisis, and
• Help countries to move away from expensive and polluting Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and diesel fuel, reducing their emissions.

The project will also support technical assistance to West African Power Pool (WAPP) to strengthen regional integration by improving grid synchronous operation, finance studies and consultancies to support preparation of regional transmission projects and increasing WAPP capacity.

Mission 300 targets of Liberia

The country’s National Energy Compact, released at the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in early 2025, said that Liberia aims to accelerate the pace of electricity to 100,000 households per year through grid and off-grid options to achieve a national access rate of 75% by 2030.

The country will also look to develop a national clean cooking strategy to identify the baseline and targets for increasing access to clean cooking solutions. 

“Liberia is committed to increasing its share of renewable energy to 75% from the current 67%, while the generation base is expected to increase by 150%. 

“Liberia aims to mobilise $70 million of private capital for utility-scale solar and another $80 to $100 million for [distributed renewable energy] and clean cooking.”

The Compact pointed out that about 32.7% of the population (5.56 million) has access to electricity. Of this, 25% are connected to the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) grid, while 7.7% rely on off-grid sources.