With the impact of climate change, countries are seeking to expand their energy matrix and find alternatives that are both sustainable and efficient. Costa Rica has the potential to become a leader in solar energy, further enhancing its reputation as a green country. Jorge Esteban Padilla, a member Contact online >>
With the impact of climate change, countries are seeking to expand their energy matrix and find alternatives that are both sustainable and efficient. Costa Rica has the potential to become a leader in solar energy, further enhancing its reputation as a green country. Jorge Esteban Padilla, a member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Distributed Generation, explained that Costa Rica has the third-best solar energy potential on the continent, only surpassed by Chile and Ecuador.
“The worst area of the country for generating solar power is still much better than the best area in Germany, the world leader in photovoltaic penetration,” he said. Padilla also pointed out that Costa Rica cannot continue to rely on burning bunker fuel—which both pollutes and drives up electricity prices—or on purchasing electricity from abroad, as it could become prohibitively expensive or even unavailable.
Experts estimate that building just 10 solar mega-plants, each with a capacity of 200 megawatts, on approximately 2,000 manzanas of currently unused land in Nicoya would generate an additional 2,000 megawatts of power in the summer months. This amount exceeds the historical maximum demand of 1,980 megawatts.
These 10 plants could generate energy equivalent to 50% of Costa Rica’s total annual renewable energy production. Ricardo Trujillo, general manager of Fibrotel, criticized the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) for its slow progress and lack of commitment to solar energy, which he believes would benefit everyone.
To diversify the energy matrix, ICE signed nine contracts with private companies in early September to produce 166 megawatts of solar and wind energy. Of these projects, which are expected to be completed between 2026 and 2027, five focus on solar energy with a potential capacity of 86 megawatts. While this represents progress, the country still faces challenges from climate-related phenomena.
A single renewable energy source alone cannot meet the nation’s electricity demands. Historically, Costa Rica has focused on building large hydroelectric plants, largely overlooking the potential of solar energy.
"Over time, electrical planning has been neglected, and our system has shown signs of vulnerability, the most recent being the near-rationing in May, which fortunately did not materialize," said Mario Alvarado, Executive Director of the Costa Rican Association of Energy Producers.
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Take advantage of our market research to plan your expansion into the Costa Rican renewable energy market. This guide includes information on:
The Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) holds a monopoly over electricity distribution and generation in Costa Rica. There are some exceptions where other public institutions and co-operatives are authorized by law to generate and sell electricity. The most relevant exception is the National Energy and Light Company (CNFL), which is a subsidiary of ICE. The following exceptions are entitled to generate, distribute and sell electricity within the circumscriptions that have been assigned to them by law. For example: Rural Electrification Cooperatives (including Coopesantos, Coope Alfaro Ruiz, Coopelesca and Coopeguanacaste) and Regional Public Service Entities; ESPH in Heredia province and JASEC in Cartago province.
During 2012,Costa Ricainaugurated the Miravalles Solar Plant next to the Miravalles Volcano 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. This plant of 1MW only represents 0.03% of all the capacity installed in the country.
Currently, Costa Rica generates less than 1% of its energy production using solar power. The rest of the production is 79% Hydro, 12% Wind and 8% Geothermal. The final users of solar equipment are found in the residential,commercial, utility and in a lesser degree off-grid mostly in the inaccessible mountains and Cocos Island.
The law authorizes private companies and persons to generate for auto-consumption without any restriction. Generation of electricity in order to distribute and sell to third parties is authorized only when that energy is sold to ICE at a set price.
The Costa Rican market is in need of advanced technological products in the solar area, most of the panels are already supplied by Asian companies at prices that are not competitive with US-manufactured similar products. Long-term accumulative batteries are part of the market needs both for large electric cooperatives, ICE and just for the household. EV Charging stations have been installed all over the country, but supermarkets and other businesses are installing EV chargers in their own premises for their clients.
American firms have a strong presence in Costa Rica mostly in other areas of energy generation. The main competitors of U.S. businesses in the solar area in Costa Rica are Chinese brands. Most companies selling solar systems are local companies that assembling Asian solar panels with some U.S. made components.
Currently, the best prospect for Costa Rica are long term accumulative batteries. Other more traditional solar panels and equipment is needed, but the market has found Asian quality products at a very low cost, hence making it very hard for US companies to compete.
For this type of products there is no specific need for registration, but it is very important to follow all the procedures to ship batteries following the rules for shipping this specific product.
It''s recommended for US made products to make use of the current Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) to eliminate the tariffs. There aren''t any restrictions or non-tariff barriers on renewable equipment. There are no known technical barriers, but rather market competitiveness issues with Asian products that supply almost all the solar panels sold in Costa Rica.
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