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Costa Rica considering opening energy market to private investment

Costa Rica considering opening energy market to private investment Playa Potrero Guanacaste, Costa Rica (source: flickr/ mdverde, creative commons)
Francisco Rojas 21 Oct 2014

There are signs of consensus among the main legislative fractions in Costa Rica on the need to harness geothermal energy in national parks and open up the market to the private sector.

Local news from Costa Rica state that there is change happening in the industry. The country is changing the focus opening the possibility to exploit geothermal resources in national parks.

According to the local news, there are signs of consensus among the main legislative fractions on the need to harness geothermal energy in national parks. Nevertheless, there is still no agreement on who would participate in the use of resources .

Political parties are debating if private companies could be allowed to harnbess geothermal or if a compulsory participation with the government would be necessary.

M-This was one of the topics that were discussed yesterday at the legislative forum of the national dialogue on power. “Citizen participation has been a major concern of this government,” said Edgar Gutierrez, Minister of Environment and Energy.

With the legislative forum concluded the first phase of the process, in which citizens submitted their initiatives in two regional forums, in the North and in the South, and through the virtual platform is enabled. “There was consensus that we want a renewable energy grid. The autonomy and stability from base-load geothermal or hydropower are key” said Irene Cañas, Deputy Minister of Energy.

The need to increase private sector participation in power generation was raised.

Source: La Republica via Piensa Geotermia