Costa Rica hits renewable energy mark for fourth year in a row

Costa Rica has generated more than 98 percent of its power through renewable sources for the fourth year in a row, the state energy body said Thursday.

In 2018, just 1.44 percent of the country’s electricity came from fossil fuel plants, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) said in a statement.

ICE power director Luis Pacheco said Costa Rica’s electricity generation system had made it “an example for the region and the world.”

River water is the main source of energy, providing 73.87 percent of the country’s needs, followed by wind (15.6 percent) and geothermal energy from its volcanos (8.38 percent).

Costa Rica avoided using its fossil fuels plants in 300 days during 2018; the last instance came on May 17.

October was the month in which it generated the most renewable electricity, some 976.78 gigawatts an hour, the ICE said.

Costa Rica llega a 300 días acumulados de generación eléctrica 100% renovable en 2018. Desde el 17 de mayo pasado no ha sido necesario recurrir al respaldo térmico para atender la demanda eléctrica del país, lo que representa más de siete meses consecutivos sin hidrocarburos.

— Carlos Alvarado Quesada (@CarlosAlvQ) December 20, 2018