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Despite the considerable potential for an accelerated use of renewable energy-based mini-grids, opportunities for income generation and social and environmental benefits, progress continues to be hampered by a number of key barriers and bottlenecks. Many countries still lack sufficient technical capacities to install, operate and maintain the systems, the regulatory framework to attract project developers, and access to financing to bring sufficient scale. UNIDO’s access to energy projects aim to address these issues, yet the evidence suggests that there is no unique business model that can easily and universally be replicated and scaled-up. This report takes stock of the current experience, and draws interim conclusions on the lessons learnt, and provides guiding recommendations for designing energy access projects.

Since 2011, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate is assisting the Liberian Hydrological Service in upgrading the Liberian hydrometric network. The project established 10 hydrometric stations in the principal river basins and it trained the LHS staff. After 30-years long break, the flows of Liberian rivers again are gauged and hydrological data are available to users. Continuous collection of hydrological data is particularly important for the ongoing and future hydropower studies and projects.