Costa Rica ran almost entirely on renewable energy in 2016

• 7 years ago (2017-01-02)
• David Flin

Renewables 757

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The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) has said that the country ran entirely on renewable energy for 250 days in 2016, with renewables supplying 98.1 per cent of Costa Rica’s electricity for the year.

The country of 4.9 million people gets most of its electricity from large hydropower facilities, which are fed by multiple rivers and heavy seasonal rains. Geothermal plants and wind turbines are also prominent sources of power, while biomass and solar power provide a tiny but growing share of electricity. A few diesel-fired power plants are available, but ICE said these have been little used over the last two years.

ICE said that Costa Rica had a 110 day sequence of carbon-free electricity from June 17 to October 6, when the company briefly turned on its fossil fuel plants. After that, it resumed its run of consecutive, fossil fuel-free days.

Carlos Manuel Obregón, President of ICE, said that the power company expects renewable power generation to “stay stable” in 2017, thanks partly to Costa Rica’s four new wind farms and favourable hydro-meteorological conditions, which are projected near the country’s hydropower plants.