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<\/a>Seven percent of Costa Rica\u2019s electricity comes from wind power, thanks to wind farms such as the ones operating in the mountains of La Paz and Casamata, 50 km from San Jos\u00e9. But the automotive industry remains a hurdle to the country\u2019s dream of achieving a totally clean energy mix. Credit: Diego Arguedas Ortiz\/IPS<\/p><\/div>\n
In April, the state electricity company, ICE<\/a>, announced that in 2015, 97 percent of the country\u2019s energy supply would come from clean sources.<\/p>\n \u201cThe country as such, along with its energy and environmental policies, has decided that it wants its energy development to be based on renewable sources,\u201d Javier Orozco, the head of ICE\u2019s System Expansion Process, told Tierram\u00e9rica.<\/p>\n But this Central American country of 4.5 million people still depends partially on fossil fuels. The official said \u201cwe use thermal energy generation as a complement because renewables depend on the climate and you can\u2019t guarantee that there will always be wind or water.\u201d<\/p>\n The country\u2019s energy supply is based almost totally on clean sources. In March ICE announced that in the first 75 days of the year, not a single litre of oil nor kilo of coal were burnt to generate electricity in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cIn our country, we build thermal plants to keep them turned off. Our aim is to have thermal plants that are turned off most of the time,\u201d Orozco said.<\/p>\n That objective is not always met, principally because hydroelectric power varies with seasonal stream flows. The year 2014 was dry and the country\u2019s fossil fuel use hit a record level, generating 10.3 percent of the total electricity supply.<\/p>\n Since the mid-20th century, Costa Rica\u2019s energy mix has been largely based on hydroelectricity. But the country has gradually reduced its dependence on that energy source, and in 2014 hydropower accounted for only 63 percent of the total demand of 2,800 MW, while geothermal energy supplied 15 percent and wind power seven percent.<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s large petroleum bill was caused by the El Ni\u00f1o\/Southern Oscillation, a cyclical climate phenomenon that affects weather patterns around the world, which hit Central America hard and triggered one of the worst droughts in over half a century.<\/p>\n Projections of the future impact of climate change play a double role: while the world has to seek cleaner sources of energy to curb global warming, Costa Rica must diversify its energy mix because of the changes in hydrological patterns.<\/p>\n The country is thus exploring the limits of renewable energies and the possibility of generating 100 percent clean energy is on the table, as part of a strategy based especially on geothermal power.<\/p>\n This source of energy is hidden under the volcanoes of northwest Costa Rica. Local scientists and engineers are perfecting the technique of using the earth\u2019s heat to generate electricity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are planning the construction of the new geothermal plant, Pailas II, and we are at the stage of feasibility studies for a new field. Geothermal power is important because it isn\u2019t subject to climate change, but is constant,\u201d Orozco explained. But the problem with respect to developing this source of energy is that the rest of the potential lies in national parks, where exploiting it is banned by law.<\/p>\n That raises the question of what definition of green energy the country will accept.<\/p>\n Experts like former minister of environment and energy Ren\u00e9 Castro (2011-2014) see the development of geothermal energy as viable.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is possible,\u201d Castro told Tierram\u00e9rica. \u201cTwo changes are needed: ICE would need to expand geothermal energy production, and the extraction of this source of energy in national parks would need to be authorised, while paying royalties to the parks and replacing the land used, twice over: if 50 hectares are used (in a park), the equivalent of 100 percent of its ecological value would be replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n The other measure proposed by Castro is \u201cto authorise the private sector to generate electricity with biomass from pineapple or banana plant waste, or sawdust,\u201d and later sell it to ICE, which administers the energy supply and is the biggest producer of electricity.<\/p>\n Private operators represent 14.5 percent of total energy generation and one-fourth of installed capacity. But they face legal restrictions when it comes to expanding their share.<\/p>\n The investment needed would be similar to what is projected by ICE, which is close to one percent of GDP, the former minister said. \u201cWhat would change is that instead of one single investor, ICE, it would be the dominant one, accompanied by around 30 other companies and cooperatives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The country is in urgent need of holding this debate.<\/p>\n In July 2014, the legislature approved a loan from the European Investment Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency to build the Pailas II geothermal project.<\/p>\n ICE is building plants that will expand its current installed capacity of 2,800 MW by an additional 800 MW.<\/p>\n At the same time, the government is holding a national dialogue on electrical energy<\/a>, to discuss these issues, and a national dialogue on transportation and fuels, which will address the hurdle to Costa Rica\u2019s dream of green energy: the fuel used in transportation.<\/p>\n Transport, the weakest link<\/p>\n \u201cThe transportation sector is the biggest energy consumer at a national level and is responsible for 67 percent of the country\u2019s total greenhouse gas emissions,\u201d said the current minister of environment and energy, \u00c9dgar Guti\u00e9rrez, at the start of the national dialogue talks.<\/p>\n That is why \u201caddressing the challenges in this sector is a priority\u201d for the government, he said.<\/p>\n No matter how clean Costa Rica\u2019s energy mix becomes, the country will still produce emissions and will still have a \u201cdirty\u201d development model because of land transport.<\/p>\n One possible solution could come from Costa Rican-born scientist and former astronaut Franklin Chang, who is working on a hydrogen-based renewable energy system.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem doesn\u2019t lie in electricity but in transportation,\u201d he told Tierram\u00e9rica. \u201cThat\u2019s where we have to distance ourselves from the use of petroleum, introduce our own fuel in our own country with hydrogen-based technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n From his laboratory in Guancaste, in western Costa Rica on the Pacific Ocean, Chang has partnered with Costa Rica\u2019s state oil refinery, RECOPE, to create a pilot plan with several hydrogen-fueled vehicles, and has reached the test stage. But a technicality has stalled the 2.3 million dollar project.<\/p>\n In October, his company, Ad Astra<\/a>, announced that it was ready to launch the final phase.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the final flourish \u2013 we were going to install and create a small ecosystem of hydrogen vehicles,\u201d said Chang. But RECOPE was unable to overcome the legal obstacle to operate using that energy source. \u201cIn March I announced that I was totally fed up.\u201d<\/p>\n The legislature is currently studying a solution to enable RECOPE to invest in clean energy sources, but until then the project will be stalled.<\/p>\n ____________________________________<\/p>\n Related IPS Articles<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n This story was originally published by Latin American newspapers that are part of the Tierram\u00e9rica network.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThe plant will have 50 MW of installed capacity and it will join the ones already in operation: Pailas (35 MW), and Miralles (165 MW). That means that only 23 percent of the country\u2019s geothermal potential of 865 MW is being used, according to ICE figures.<\/p>\n\n