Renewable energy in Costa Rica

Renewable energy in Costa Rica accounts for an average of 90% of the energy output for the entire nation.[1] As of 2014, 99% of its electrical energy was derived from renewable energy sources, about 80% of which from hydroelectric power.[2] As a country, Costa Rica has a geographic advantage over others in that its high concentration per capita of rivers, dams, and volcanoes allow for a high renewable energy output. In addition, Costa Rica is the fourth highest nation in terms of rainfall per capita: it receives an average of 2,926mm of precipitation per year.[3] As a smaller nation with a population of only 5 million and no major industry, the need for strong energy infrastructure is less than for larger countries of higher population density. The 1948 elimination of the military of Costa Rica also allows that the government does not need to spend millions of dollars on the defense budget and instead invests in social programs and renewable energy generation.[1] As president of Costa Rica in 1948, José Figueres announced that the nation's former military budget would be refocused specifically in healthcare, education, and environmental protection.[4]

While Costa Rica's largest source of energy is hydroelectricity, other sources include geothermal energy, biomass, solar power, and wind power.[2]

Energy consumption in Costa Rica

The commercial consumption of energy in Costa Rica has tripled from 1980 to 2009. The electricity consumption has increased by 4.2 times due to a high level of electrification.[5] According with the World Bank, 99.5%[6] of the country’s population has access to electricity. Meanwhile, fossil fuel’s consumption has increased by 2.4 times, caused by a significant growing of the number of vehicles.

The average yearly growing of hydrocarbons consumption in the last 20 years has been about 4.7% and electricity of 5.3%. At this rate, demand of electricity will double in 13 years and hydrocarbons in 15 years. The dependency of Costa Rica for fossil fuels reached in 2009 the 64% of commercial energy while electricity 22%. The rest of the basket consumption is completed by biomass (12%) and other energy products (2%). Accoriding with the World Bank, as of 2013, the energy use per capita of Costa Rica was 1029 kg[7] of oil equivalent and the electric power consumption per capita 1955 kWh.[8]

Sources

Hydroelectricity

Costa Rica receives about 65%[9] of its energy from hydroelectric plants alone due to its extreme amounts of rainfall and multiple rivers.[10] As the largest source of energy, hydropower represents the most important source of energy in the country, but after inauguration of the Reventazon Dam, the only big hydro project remaining in the planning stage by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Costa Rican Institute of Electricity) is the El Diquís Hydroelectric Project, which has been suffering significant delays[11] due to pending environmental studies and the indigenous consultation that the state-owned company should conduct in the framework of the United Nations procedures.

Dams

Costa Rica’s largest dams include The Lake Arenal Dam, Lake Cachi Dam, the Rio Macho Dam, the Pirris Dam, the Reventazón Dam and the proposed El Diquís Hydroelectric Project. The Lake Arenal Dam was built in 1979 as the first dam intended solely for hydroelectric power usage. It is located on Lake Arenal next to the famous Arenal Volcano, one of the major tourist attractions in Costa Rica. At about 33 square miles, Lake Arenal provides enough electricity to power 12% of the country.[12] The Lake Cachi, Rio Macho, and Pirris Dams are all powered by the Rio Reventazón (Reventazón River) and its tributaries. The Cachi dam is situated on an artificial lake that was built in the 1970's and produces enough energy to power about 330,000 homes in Costa Rica. It also controls floods and provides recreational activities in the lake. Upstream of Cachi, the Rio Macho hydroelectric power plant has been operating since 1963 to provide hydroelectric power for central Costa Rica.[13] On the downstream, the Pirris dam is one of the largest dams in Costa Rica and has the potential to power 160,000 homes. It also employes 3,000 Costa Ricans and provides drinking water to 40% of the metropolitan city area. The El Diquís Hydroelectric Project is a proposed hydroelectric system that Costa Rica plans to build as one of the largest Central American hydroelectric plant, located in the Southern Pacific area of the country and is intended to provide the nation with 631MW, enough energy to reach at least one million consumers. The recently opened Reventazón Dam, the current largest hydroelectric project of Central America is located on the Reventazón River, with a generation contribution of 305.5MW to the National Electric System, enough for providing electricity to more than 500,000 families.[14][15]

Geothermal power

Geothermal power is a natural energy source that provides subterranean heat and power as a byproduct of volcanic energy. Costa Rica has six currently active volcanoes and dozens of inactive volcanoes.[16] Unlike many other forms of renewable energy, geothermal can be continuously generated and is not dependent on weather. Geothermal energy contributes to about 15% of the energy in the country.[17]

Plants

The North Volcanic Mountain Ridge in Guanacaste is the region of Costa Rica with the most potential for geothermal power generation. Volcanoes in the region include Miravalles, Rincón de la Vieja, and Tenorio.

The Miravalles Geothermal Field, opened in 1994, contains five plants and results in the production of 14% of the National Electric System's power capacity, or about 163 MW.[18] The Pailas Geothermal Power Plant, established in July 2011, produces a total of 55MW[19] and is located just outside Rincón de la Vieja National Park. Rincón de la Vieja is a 600,000 year old volcano and the largest in the northwestern region of Costa Rica. In 2014, Costa Rica's government approved legislation for a $958 million geothermal project in the region to offset the country's reliance on hydropower.[20]

Wind power

While Costa Rica is not known specifically for its wind power, there have been a few different wind energy projects developed in the past decade. In March 2015, The Costa Rican Institute of Electricity stated that they plan on doubling the installed wind capacity in the nation by 2017.[21] As of 2011, only 2.1% of energy produced in the nation came from wind power.[22]

Wind Power is primarily used in Costa Rica during the months of December to March, or the dry season. During this period, there is a general decreased rainfall in the nation and hydropower output decreases.

Farms

Currently, there are nine large wind farms operating in Costa Rica. The Tejona Wind Power Project (TWPP) is a 19.8 MW project, fully operational since 2003, that consists of thirty wind turbines. Most recently, Tila Wind, an even larger 20-MW farm, opened in 2015. Three of the remaining eight are owned by ICE and Compania Nacional de Fuerza y Luz SA (CNFL) and CoopeSantos RL. The remaining five are privately owned, and nearly all of the wind power plants are in the province of Guanacaste.[21]

Solar power

Like wind power, solar power is another newer energy source in the country. The first solar power projects in the country were established in 1978 by just a few researchers from public universities at the Solar Power Laboratory at the National University. Though still on a smaller scale and mostly privately owned, plans for larger more commercial projects are beginning to break through.[23]

Despite the country has a privileged position near the equator that, combined with the sunny weather during the year, made a solar power potential of more than 144 million MWh/year[24], solar energy in Costa Rica is in its early stages, and is even falling shorter than the rest of its Central American neighbors. According with a Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) study in 2006, the national photovoltaic potential of electric generation for the projected population for 2015 is 222,000 MWh/year[25].

In 2012, Costa Rica inaugurated the Miravalles Solar Plant on the hillside of the Miravalles Volcano. That time, it was the first of its kind in Costa Rica and the largest solar project in Central America[26]. It was built with the help of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The project’s totaling was $11.5 million ($10 million from JICA and $1.5 million from ICE[27]). This plant of 1MW only represents 0.03% of all the capacity installed in the country of 2872 MW.

In 2013, China and Costa Rica signed agreements of USD $30 million for financing the installation of 50 thousand solar panels, including a power plant of 10 MW[28]. In addition, in 2014, ICE announced a pilot program for solar energy use in housing that aimed to reach 600,000 clients[29]., but in 2015, the institution ended the plan arguing that the maximum capacity was already reached, rising criticism from the solar energy distributed generation sector. According with ACESOLAR[30], more than 1000 jobs were in risk for such decision.

Differences of bureaucracy procedures and technical aspects related to the official national norm “Planeación, Operación y Acceso al Sistema Eléctrico Nacional” (POASEN, in Spanish) on introducing distributed generation have been occurring and causing delays[31] [32]in its implementation through the last years among the main actors of the solar sector: the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), the Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos (ARESEP, in Spanish, a public entity that fixes prices and standards on public services), the electricity agencies of the country and the private companies that supply solar panels. One of the main discrepancies between MINAE and ARESEP was the legal nature of net metering, being solved by the Attorney General of the Republic (Procuraduría General de la República, in Spanish) in June 2015[33]. The final resolution stated that distributed generation for self-consumption is not considered a public service in Costa Rica. In October 2015, the government finally published[34] the required regulatory framework that entered into operation in April 2016.

By 2015, countries like Guatemala or Honduras have 85 MW and 388 MW of solar power capacity installed respectively, and Nicaragua and Panama are also ahead of Costa Rica with 1.4 MW and 42.7 MW, according with a report[35] released in july 2016 by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL, in Spanish). ICE's position is that the maximum capacity that could be allowed in the National Electric System is 60 MW, distributed in plants of no more than 5 MW across the territory[36]. However, the institution is not reporting to develop more solar projects in the next 10 years in their expansion plan.

Biomass

As of 2011, only .25% of energy produced in Costa Rica came from biomass. The Jorge Manuel Dengo Obregon National Development Plan proposes the development of sustainable biomass for energy. Currently, biomass is primarily used for cooking and heating kitchen appliances to reduce the reliance on petroleum in the household.[22]

Energy organizations

Ministry of Environment and Energy

The Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica (MINAE, in English), is the governmental institution responsible of the management of the resources of Costa Rica in the environmental and energy field. The President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera, appointed[37] engineer Irene Cañaz Díaz – a former consultant of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit - as Vice-minister of Energy in May 2014. According with the Ministry’s goals, the energy agenda of Costa Rica aims to generate a more rational and efficient use of energy resources, reduce the dependency to international markets and prepare the country to face climate change and oil depletion.[38] The Viceministry of Energy has three general departments: Sectoral Energy, Hydrocarbons and Transportation and Fuels Marketing.

Sectoral Energy Department

The Sectoral Energy Department (Dirección Sectorial de Energía, or DSE in Spanish) is responsible to create and promote the integral energy planning, using policies and strategic actions for guaranteeing the supply and quality of energy of Costa Rica. Among the objectives of the DSE, they are responsible[39] of creating the National Energy Plan taking into account the National Development Plan of Costa Rica, as well as the demands of the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE)

The Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, ICE, in Spanish) was created on April 8, 1949[40] as an autonomous state-owned institution, as a way to solve the issues of electric energy availability that the country was faced during the 40’s. Since then, the ICE has been executing the electrical development of Costa Rica. In the last years, the institution has evolved as a corporation (Grupo ICE) clustering other public companies that include “Radiográfica Costarricense” (RACSA) and the National Company of Power and Illumination (Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz, CNFL).

“Grupo ICE” has used as primary source the hydroelectricity for developing its infrastructure, but it has also built (and is currently building) several geothermal, wind and solar energy projects. It has more than 15,000[41] workers and has customer service offices in the whole country. Although the first large-scale hydroelectric station began to function at the beginning of the 1900s, large-scale hydroelectric power and electricity did not begin to be developed until the formation of Grupo ICE.[42]

Costa Rican Petroleum Refinery (RECOPE S.A.)

The Costa Rican Petroleum Refinery (Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo, RECOPE in Spanish) is a state-owned institution, considered the biggest company in Central America. Since its creation in 1963 (and nationalized in 1974), RECOPE focuses its operations on import and distribution of fossil fuels in Costa Rica.[43]

In the research field, RECOPE has an experimental plant of biodiesel and through internships and agreements, works with public universities of Costa Rica and research centers in the developing of alternative fuels like biofuels, natural gas and hydrogen.

Hydrogen Research

In 2011, the Board of Directors of RECOPE signed a partnership with Ad Astra Rocket Company, an American rocket propulsion company with facilities in Costa Rica, for jointly research in hydrogen technologies for the transport sector.[44]

The project comprehends three phases: phase A (focused in the development of a feasibility study and to generate capacities for designing a station of compression and storage of hydrogen, delivered in 2012); phase B (designing and implementation of the storage system, delivered in 2013) and phase C (development of the integrated and autonomous system of energy supply from hydrogen).

The research work has been stranded since 2014, when the new administration of RECOPE decided to not continue with the initiative arguing doubts about the legal authority of RECOPE to invest in clean energy. In March 2015, the CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Company and former Costa Rican-American astronaut, Dr. Franklin Chang Diaz, announced the end of relations[45] with RECOPE due their lack of definition and the delays the project was suffering. The announcement was followed by harsh criticism of the population and national media against RECOPE’s Board of Directors as well as other governmental institutions involved in the decision.[46][47]

ACOPE

Asociación Costarricense de Productores de Energía (ACOPE) was founded in 1989 and represents more than 40 private hydroelectric, wind, and biomass units generating in the country. Though there are a few large private energy companies in Costa Rica, most primarily generate power to sell to ICE.

Consorcio Nacional de Empresas de Electrificacion de Costa Rica

Consorcio Nacional de Empresas de Electrificacion de Costa Rica (Conelectricas), formed in 1989, is a union that aims to develop hydroelectric projects. The union consists of four smaller agencies: Coopeguanacaste, R.L, Coope Alfaro Ruiz, R.L, Coopelesca, R.L, and Coopesantos, R.L. Together, these four cooperatives provide electricity to around 500,000 people, or 22% of the country.[22]

Costa Rican Association of Solar Energy (ACESOLAR)

The Asociación Costarricense de Energía Solar (ACESOLAR, in Spanish)[48] is a NGO which its main objective is to promote the use and development of solar energy in the country. The organization collaborate with the private and public representatives related to the sector.

2015: 75 days of renewable energy

At the start of January 2015, Costa Rica’s 4.9 million person population ran entirely on renewable energy power for 75 days straight. This was a record-breaking achievement in that Costa Rica was the first nation to power itself completely clean of fossil fuels for this long a timeframe. This summer was an exceptionally rainy one for Costa Rica: while usually the dry season, the sheer amount of power provided from an unusually high amount of precipitation led to a higher than usual amount of hydroelectricity generated.[10]

Carbon neutrality

Costa Rica aims to be 100% carbon neutral by 2021.[42] Apart from relying 99% on renewable resources, carbon neutrality is achieved by adopting electric and hybrid transportation.[49] In addition, the Costa Rican government is also beginning to offset the country's carbon dioxide emissions with new budgeting, laws, and incentives, including measures to promote biofuels, hybrid vehicles, and clean energy. Another way of offsetting emissions will be a "C-Neutral" tax which will certify that ecotourism and other industrial practices are offsetting their carbon emissions. At $10 per one ton of carbon, the money will fund conservation, reforestation, and research.[50]

Legislation

As of November 2015, the office of governing Citizen Action Party legislator is working on a bill allowing geothermal electricity development in national parks. In turn, the ICE would compensate land used for the projects with land outside the parks. The bill addresses concerns over geothermal electricity generation in Rincón de la Vieja, Tenorio, and Arenal Volcano national parks.[51]

Conflicts

Transportation

The biggest obstacle to carbon neutrality is the transportation sector. Vehicles consume 70% of the petroleum consumed in the nation, which is 40% of the total carbon emissions. The primary mode of public transportation is diesel-powered buses. More than 50% of Costa Rica's personal passenger cars are over 20 years old with high polluting engines, though the government is beginning to propose new hybrid and plug-in electric vehicle initiatives. Other proposed solutions include trains, gondolas, and trolleys in the metropolitan Costa Rican Central Valley.[52]

Reliability

Though hydroelectricity from dams is a high-density and high-power energy source, it is also highly dependent on weather conditions. Hydropower is reliant on rainfall and is therefore not the most reliable form of energy during seasons of drought. After an extreme season of drought in 2014, Costa Rica was forced to resort to diesel generators since sufficient rainfall was unavailable to power any of the hydroelectric dams.[1]

Wind and solar are both energy sources that are highly dependent on weather conditions and have therefore been used on a much smaller scale than both hydroelectric and geothermal energy.[10]

Environmental and Social Impact

One main barrier to extensive geothermal power is the abundance of national parks and protected areas that prevent excavation near many of Costa Rican’s volcanoes. For example, though Rincon de la Vieja has the potential to fuel a high density of geothermal energy, Costa Rican law currently prohibits the extraction of resources inside national parks in order to preserve the land.[18] Hydroelectric dams have also been criticized for their effects on the surrounding ecosystems. Controversy around hydroelectric dam usage stems from both environmental impact on a surrounding region and from human displacement of land. Hydroelectric dams have been equated to interference in fish migration patterns, ecosystem disrupt, interference in water quality, and land degradation from flooding the land.[53]

The Birris dam especially caused much controversy regarding the displacement of people who lived in the area, especially in relation to the indigenous peoples of Costa Rica. Though dams provide job opportunities for locals, they also displace large populations of humans.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The truth behind Costa Rica's renewable energy | Lindsay Fendt". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  2. 1 2 "Costa Rica Is 99% Powered By Renewable Energy - MetaEfficient". MetaEfficient. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  3. ↑ "Costa Rica Geography Facts & Stats". www.nationmaster.com. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  4. ↑ Barash, David P. (2013-12-15). "Costa Rica's peace dividend: How abolishing the military paid off". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  5. ↑ "Agenda Energética: Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía". Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "World Development Indicators: Electricity production, sources, and access:". Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "World Development Indicators: Energy production and use:".
  8. ↑ "World Development Indicators: Power and communications:". Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "VII National Energy Plan of Costa Rica" (PDF). Sectoral Energy Department of the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  10. 1 2 3 "Water, Fire, and Costa Rica's Carbon-Zero Year So Far". WIRED. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  11. ↑ Murillo, Alvaro (30 July 2014). "Diálogo con indígenas atrasará todavía más proyecto El Diquís". Newspaper La Nación. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "Lake Arenal Dam - Costa Rica". www.arenal.net. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  13. 1 2 "hydro-costa-rica". www.industcards.com. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  14. ↑ "Costa Rica inaugura la hidroeléctrica más grande de Centroamérica". La Prensa Honduras. Agencia EFE. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "Water | Costa Rica's Environment:". blogs.nelson.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  16. ↑ "Exciting volcanic action happening at Rincon de la Vieja - Enchanting Costa Rica". Enchanting Costa Rica. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  17. ↑ "Costa Rica Has Only Used Renewable Energy For Electricity This Year". IFLScience. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  18. 1 2 Paul Moya, Emilia M. Rodríguez, and Alfredo Mainier, "UTILIZATION OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN PROTECTED AREAS OF COSTA RICA" Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, UEN de Proyectos y Servicios Asociados
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  25. ↑ Wright, Jaime. ""Estudio del potencial solar en Costa Rica"," (PDF). acesolar.org. Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad. p. 62. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  26. ↑ STAFF, TCRN (7 May 2016). "The Coming of Solar Energy to Costa Rica - The Costa Rica News". The Costa Rica News. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  27. ↑ Dolezal, Adam; et al. "The Way Forward for Renewable Energy in Central America" (PDF). World Watch Institute. World Watch Institute. p. 28. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  28. ↑ Arias, Juan (2 June 2013). "China financiará paneles solares para que Costa Rica alcance el 100% de cobertura eléctrica en hogares". La Nación. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  29. ↑ Madrigal, Maria (21 February 2014). "Más de 600 mil clientes del ICE pueden optar por un plan de energía solar". tecdigital.tec.ac.cr. TECDigital. AmeliaRueda.com. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  30. ↑ Fornaguera, Irela (20 February 2015). "Cese de plan piloto del ICE alarma al sector energético". La Nación. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  31. ↑ Fornaguera, Irela (20 February 2015). "Falta de reglamentos apaga la generación solar en Costa Rica". La Nación. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  32. ↑ Pomareda, Fabiola (29 September 2014). "Delays, excuses and gripes mark approaching deadline for distributed electricity generation in Costa Rica". The Tico Times. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  33. ↑ Rojas, Pablo (2 July 2015). "Minae gana pulso a Aresep: Procuraduría dicta que generación distribuida para autoconsumo no es servicio público" (in Spanish). CRHoy.com. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  34. ↑ Rojas, Pablo (9 October 2015). "Publican reglamento sobre generación para autoconsumo". CRHoy.com | Periodico Digital | Costa Rica Noticias 24/7 (in Spanish). CRHoy.com. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  35. ↑ Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (26 July 2016). "Estudio Económico de América Latina y el Caribe, 2016 (LC/G.2684-P)". www.cepal.org (in Spanish). Santiago: Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL). Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  36. ↑ Lara, Juan (31 October 2016). "Istmo rebasa a Costa Rica en generación solar de electricidad". La Nación. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  37. ↑ "Coordinadora del Programa 4E- GIZ fue nombrada Viceministra de Energía en Costa Rica:". Programa de Energías Renovables y Eficiencia Energética en Centroamérica. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  38. ↑ "Agenda Energética". www.minae.go.cr. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  39. ↑ "Objetivos de la Dirección Sectorial de Energía". Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  40. ↑ "Historia del Grupo ICE:". Grupo ICE. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  41. ↑ "Acerca del Grupo ICE". Grupo ICE. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  42. 1 2 "A renewable power generation primer -". The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  43. ↑ "Marco Filosófico de RECOPE". RECOPE. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  44. ↑ Chang, Franklin. "Del Petróleo al Hidrógeno: Una Aspiración Con Grandes Posibilidades Para Costa Rica" (PDF). Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  45. ↑ Ruiz, Gerardo (4 March 2015). "Ad Astra rompe relación con Recope para usar hidrógeno como combustible". El Financiero. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  46. ↑ Rojas, Pablo (13 August 2015). "Franklin Chang sobre proyecto de hidrógeno: "no han entendido lo que significa"". Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  47. ↑ Arguedas, Diego (11 March 2015). "Franklin Chang, presidente de Ad Astra Rockets: "Torpeza estatal se ha incrementado a través de muchos años"". Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  48. ↑ "¿Quién es ACESOLAR? | ACESOLAR". www.acesolar.org. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  49. ↑ "Go 100% Renewable Energy : Project-DetailView". www.go100percent.org. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  50. ↑ "Costa Rica Aims to Become First "Carbon Neutral" Country | Worldwatch Institute". www.worldwatch.org. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  51. ↑ "Legislature to hear bill allowing Costa Rica geothermal energy in national parks". The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  52. ↑ "Costa Rica's renewable energy streak is still going, but what does that really mean? -". The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  53. ↑ "Hydropower Facts, Hydropower Information- National Geographic". National Geographic. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
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