Costa Rica is a small country with a population of less than 5 million. It’s rich with biodiversity, wildlife, and nature. The country has an abundance of waterfalls and tropical rainforests in which a free-flow of water is used to generate over 78% of its electricity needs. Costa Rica’s committed to reaching 100% renewable energy by the end of this year.
This is not a far-stretched goal. According to REVE, 99.62% of Costa Rica’s electricity came from renewables in 2019, of which 78.26% came from hydro, 10.29% from wind turbines, 10.23% from geothermal energy, and 0.84% from solar.
Costa Rica’s ultimate goal, 100% carbon neutrality by the end of 2020, will be accomplished by increasing the number of electric vehicles on its roads and developing its geothermal energy resources further.
Costa Rica’s national utility company, Grupo ICE, doesn’t foresee an expansion of demand for electricity beyond its current capacity. However, the company will look to add geothermal resources as existing facilities reach their final days of the expected service life.
Additionally, instead of emphasizing the expansion of hydroelectric power, the utility will emphasize the further development of solar, wind, and geothermal capacity. The reason for this is that hydro facilities are installed far from the population and require significant infrastructure funds to transport the electricity they generate to the grid.
Hazel Cepeda Hodgson, the utility’s General Manager, said:
While Grupo ICE will not enter into the construction of new projects in the coming years, the analysis and planning of the energy matrix dictate that by 2027, let’s review if we must undertake a new project at the end of the useful life of some of our plants. If so, it would be in geothermal energy where there is great potential.
Grupo ICE already operates six geothermal facilities. If the company decided to expand any geothermal energy it would most likely take place at one of those sites.
Hopefully, Costa Rica’s success with cutting carbon emissions and developing renewable energy will influence other countries to follow. Even though not every country has the hydroelectric resources that Costa Rica has, they can still follow their positive attitude towards protecting the environment. Costa Rica is an excellent example of a sustainable country. If any nation wants to know how to reduce emissions and increase renewable energy, they should look to what Costa Rica has done.
