Costa Rica’s ICE sets new record with 94 days of 100 percent clean power generation, requests rate hike

77.6 percent of electricity produced between May 8 and Aug. 9 was generated at hydroelectric facilities, ICE reports. (ICE / ICR Archive)

August 14^th, 2015 (ICR News) Clean energy sources were used to generate 100 percent of the electricity in Costa Rica for 94 straight days, breaking the old record of 75 days set between January and March of this year, the state-owned Costa Rican Electricity Institute, or ICE, said.

No fossil fuels were burned between May 8 and Aug. 9 to generate electricity, cementing Costa Rica’s “world leadership” in the clean energy area, the ICE said.

“This reflects the success of the diversity of our electricity mix. Thermal sources are a necessary back-up for contingencies. We take advantage of our own sources, mainly water, efficiently and responsibly, giving us greater independence,” ICE electricity manager Luis Pacheco said.

Some 77.6 percent of the electricity generated during the period came from hydroelectric power plants; 12.34 percent was from geothermal sources; 10.05 percent came from wind power; and 0.01 percent from solar panels.

The streak ended on Monday, when the ICE had to burn fossil fuels to meet 1 percent of power demand.

Clean sources will account for nearly 93 percent of the electricity generated this year, the ICE said.

The swelling Lake Arenal reservoir, which is nearly 30 feet deeper than ICE forecasts said it would be this time of year, is no doubt contributing to ICE’s clean-energy run this year.

ICE spokesperson Luis Pacheco said this week that ICE is implementing a plan to take advantage of the swelling reservoir to generate additional electricity for export onto the grid serving neighboring countries like Panama and Nicaragua.

Despite the excess capacity and the cost savings from not needing to burn fossil fuels, however, ICE requested a rate hike of 13.7% to regulator ARESEP last week.

EFE contributed to this report.