Green energy

Costa Rica in 2014 earned some $3.6 million by selling its surplus electricity to other Central American countries, ARESEP reported. Business leaders hope ICE will again sell excess hydroenergy to neighboring countries, and in turn, lower electrity costs in Costa Rica.

Workers from the state-run Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) on Thursday finished placing the last layer of rock and earth that will support the Reventazón hydroelectric project, which when completed will become the largest in Central America.

In the ongoing process to provide all electricity consumers in Costa Rica the ability to generate energy from small-scale renewable sources and exchange it on the national grid for kilowatt credits, the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) on Oct. 2 approved a methodology proposal for how to calculate rates at which those credits will be issued.

Despite Costa Rica’s talk of its commitment to promoting consumer-based renewable energy sources to produce electricity, the country is lagging in its efforts. One setback involves the country’s electricity distributors, who some say are dragging their feet on requirements to offer customers the option of connecting to the national grid with small-scale electricity generation projects from renewable sources.

A delegation led by President Luis Guillermo Solís on Monday will meet with representatives of the Japanese government to sign a $550 million loan to finance the construction of three geothermal power plants in the northwestern province of Guanacaste.

The article contains totally inaccurate statements that contradict the truth, transparency and seriousness that is required to cover the issue of geothermal energy production currently underway in the outskirts of the Rincón de la Vieja volcanic mountain range.