Mount Coffee Hydropower Project

History

In 1963, the Liberian government received a loan from the World Bank to develop a US$24.3 million hydroelectric project. Construction of the facility began in 1964 by the Monrovia Power Authority using Raymond Concrete Pile Company as the contractor and Stanley Consultants as the project managers. In 1966, the power company completed the initial phase of the dam and began generating electricity. The project was finished in 1967 and named the T. J. R. Faulkner W.F. Walker Hydroelectric Power Station.

Initial generating capacity was 30 MW produced by two turbines, which was increased to 64 MW when two more turbines were added in 1973. The plans called for a new 4000 ft dam to be built upriver on the Vai River to provide storage capacity, while two 52 MW turbines would be added at the existing power generating plant. The US$300 million expansion was never begun due to the Civil War.

In July 1990, rebel forces under the command of Charles Taylor seized the dam and shut off power and water to Monrovia. During this First Civil War, the project's intake dam was destroyed on one end while the rest received other damage. Other parts of the facilities were looted and destroyed in later years of the conflict. including a proposal by China.

The United States Trade and Development Agency gave $400,000 to Liberia in February 2007 to study rebuilding and expanding the project. The study showed no structural damage to the dam, but that most of the project's facilities would need to be rebuilt at a cost of US$383 million. As of August 2008, the Liberian government was considering privatization of the project for a fixed number of years as the nation did not have the resources to fund the repair.

In May 2012, the Mt. Coffee Hydropower Rehabilitation Project was initiated with a series of surveying and engineering assessments of the feasibility of revitalizing the plant. This work culminated with the signing of a contract in April 2013 with a Norwegian company (Norplan AS) and a German company (Fichtner GmbH) to revitalize the defunct power-plant by 2015.

In December 2016, the first hydropower turbine and generator unit, with an installed capacity of 22 megawatts (MW), was officially dedicated and commissioned. The project, completed in 2018, raised the total installed capacity of the Mt. Coffee Hydropower Plant to 88 MW (four generating units of 22 MW each). The Mount Coffee Hydroelectric Dam is located in Mount Coffee, township of Harrisburg. White Plains is the site of the water filtration plant.

Details

Located in the Harrisburg Township of Careysburg District, Montserrado County, it lies on the Saint Paul River approximately 21 miles (34 km) from Monrovia. The dam is a run-of the river style dam, in that there is no reservoir. In addition to electricity, the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation used the project to provide drinking water to Monrovia and surrounding areas before the war.

References

References

1. The Analyst. (January 4, 2005). "Liberia;Liberian Engineer Presents Project For Hydro Dam Construction, But Faces Stone Wall". Africa News.
2. Jonathan Nash. (July 23, 2018). "Success of Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant Helps Liberia Shine Brighter". Millennium Challenge Corporation blog.
3. "History". Liberia Electricity Corporation.
4. [http://www.lr.undp.org/State%20of%20the%20environment%20report%20final.pdf First State of the Environment Report for Liberia – 2006.] {{webarchive. link. (2009-04-11 United Nations Development Programme. 2006, p. 44–45. Retrieved on October 19, 2008.)
5. The Monrovia Power Authority became the [[Liberia Electricity Corporation]] on July 12, 1973. In June 1990, the government announced plans to more than double the electricity generating capacity of the project and adding a reservoir to allow more generation during the dry season."Liberia expands hydropower", ''Engineering News-Record'', June 7, 1990. McGraw-Hill, Inc., Vol. 224, No. 23; p. 27.
6. Huband, Mark. "Retreating Liberian rebel leader urges peace talks" [[United Press International]], October 7, 1990.
7. "Worldwide: Liberia blackout", ''[[The Independent]]'', July 1, 1990, Foreign News Page, p. 14.
8. [http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/Liberia_DS.pdf Desk Study on the Environment in Liberia.] United Nations Environment Programme. 2004, p. 30. Retrieved on October 19, 2008.
9. Beginning in early 2005, proposals were made to repair the facility and restore power,The Analyst. "Liberia; Liberian Engineer Presents Project For Hydro Dam Construction, But Faces Stone Wall", Africa News, January 4, 2005.
10. "Weekly Recap", Power, Finance and Risk, March 25, 2005.
11. [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33185.pdf Liberia's Post-War Recovery: Key Issues and Developments.] Congressional Research Service. Retrieved on October 19, 2008.
12. Wrokpoh, Patrick K.. (February 25, 2008). "No structural damage done to hydro". The Inquirer.
13. STAR Radio. (August 22, 2008). "Liberia needs about 383m dollars to rebuild hydroelectric plant". Global News Wire.
14. (April 24, 2013). "LEC Signs Consulting Services Agreement with Norplan/Fichtner for Mt. Coffee Owner's Engineer". Mt Coffee PIU.
15. "MT. COFFEE HYDROPOWER PLANT SUCCESSFULLY GENERATES POWER AFTER MORE THAN 25 YEARS! ~ TURNS ON 1ST OF 4 TURBINE WITH a GENERATING CAPACITY OF 88MW UPON COMPLETION IN AUGUST 2017 ~ - Mt. Coffee PIU".