The first production unit of Liberia’s Mount Coffee hydropower plant started to be tested for the first time. With a capacity of 22MW, the turbine will be tested until mid-December, when it will effectively go online, Ecofin Agency informed.

The first phase of the reservoir impoundment, which involved filling the reservoir with water, of the Dam Project was completed in October, with the spillway gates gradually closed in order to increase the water level in the reservoir, All Africa reported.

This comes as a step towards the rehabilitation of the Mount Coffee hydropower dam which has a total capacity of 88 MW. The infrastructure was greatly damaged during the 1990 civil war.

In related news, early 2017, the World Bank had approved a $27m loan to Liberia to support access to energy for rural Liberians.  The goal of the funding was to increase access to affordable and reliable electricity in the country and increase renewable energy sources in Liberia.