ICE continues driving three geothermal power projects in Costa Rica
Geothermal vapor - Rincon de la Vieja , Costa Rica (Source: Flickr, CC, by: Patrick Nouhailler)
Francisco Rojas
22 Jun 2015
ICE expects that by 2035 geothermal will supply 20% of the country's energy needs.
Costa Rica is a a role model for renewable energy development. Making news lately thanks to their outstanding performance, the country wants to develop their geothermal power even more in the coming years
Local news state that the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) is ready to build three new geothermal plants in the next 10 years. There is a considerable drive to increase energy supply from geothermal sources due to the unstable levels of rainfall in the country for the last few years. The baseload capability of this technology makes it a safer bet than other renewables.
“Geothermal energy is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because it does not depend on the weather” said Ronny Rodriguez, chief of staff deputy energy.
The same news source details that according to the “Plan of Electric Generation Expansion 2014-2035” published by the ICE in 2014, they are forecasting that geothermal will represent 20% of the total supply by 2035. In July 2014, the country’s Congress passed two key loans of $714 million to build the geothermal projects of Pailas II and Borinquen I & II; all three located in the Guanacaste area
The money was provided by the International Cooperation Agency of Japan (JICA), which financed $644 million and the European Investment Bank (EIB), which provided $70 million. The ICE contributed an additional $244 million.
Source: Semanario Universidad
