While
most
of
the
world
still
runs
on
dirty
fossil
fuels,
Costa
Rica
has
generated
nearly
all
of
its
electricity
from
renewable
sources
of
energy
for
nearly
a
decade.
For
comparison,
the
US
generates
just
over
20
percent
of
its
electricity
from
renewable
sources.
Costa
Rica
made
global
headlines
in
2015
for
generating
100
percent
of
its
electricity
from
renewable
energy
for
75
days
in
a
row.
Today,
it
consistently
gets
around
99
percent
of
its
electricity
from
renewables.
Even
so,
it’s
not
a
perfect
system.
Climate
change
poses
new
risks
to
the
power
grid,
and
Costa
Rica
has
a
lot
of
work
left
to
do
to
get
more
solar
and
wind
farms
online.
The
Verge
spoke
with
Kenneth
Lobo
Méndez,
director
of
planning
and
sustainability
in
electricity
management,
and
Marco
Jiménez
Chavez,
an
engineer
who
works
on
generation
expansion
planning
at
the
state-run
electricity
utility
Instituto
Costarricense
de
Electricidad
(ICE).
We
wanted
to
know
what’s
led
to
the
country’s
success
with
renewable
energy
and
what
problems
it
has
to
troubleshoot
now
in
a
warming
world.
We
wanted
to
know
what’s
led
to
the
country’s
success
with
renewable
energy
and
what
problems
it
has
to
troubleshoot
now
in
a
warming
world
This
interview
has
been
edited
for
length
and
clarity,
and
most
of
the
conversation
was
interpreted
from
Spanish
to
English.
Costa
Rica
generates
around
99
percent
of
its
electricity
from
renewable
sources.
How
was
the
country
able
to
accomplish
that?
Kenneth
Lobo
Méndez:
The
secret
of
this
achievement
is
mainly
planning.
Identify
the
capacity
of
the
different
energy
sources
so
you
can
get
the
big
picture
about
how
different
resources
can
work
together
to
get
a
renewable
system.
In
the
winter,
like
a
six-month
period
from
June
to
December,
many
of
the
hydropower
plants
get
surplus
flows.
That’s
when
we
have
low
wind,
but
we
have
more
hydropower.
And
then
in
the
summer,
like
from
December
to
May
perhaps,
we
get
low
hydropower,
so
the
other
sources
of
energy
complement
that
electricity
supply
—
mainly
wind
power,
biomass,
and
geothermal.
Why
does
Costa
Rica
rely
so
heavily
on
hydropower,
which
makes
up
73
percent
of
electricity
generation?
KLB:
There
are
two
main
reasons
why
hydropower
is
so
important
in
the
country.
The
first
one
is
because
there’s
plenty
of
hydropower
resources.
Costa
Rica
lies
in
a
tropical
zone
with
heavy
rainfall.
And
also
we
have
good
topography
[and]
elevation
difference
for
producing
power.
The
other
one
is
that
the
founders
of
this
utility
had
the
vision.
There
was
a
law
in
1949
[which
established
ICE]
that
states
that
the
country
should
develop
its
natural
resources
for
electricity
supply.
Hydropower
was
the
only
source
or
the
only
technology
that
was
available
at
the
time.
With
any
energy
project,
even
with
clean
energy,
there
can
still
be
damage.
There
has
been
opposition
to
large
hydroelectric
dams
because
they
harm
river
ecosystems
and
displace
people
from
their
homes.
How
do
you
think
about
those
risks?
KLB:
Planning
needs
social
and
environmental
aspects,
it’s
very
important.
From
the
start
of
the
project,
we
get
the
communities
and
all
the
stakeholders
involved
in
the
project.
We
know
that
perhaps
this
will
be
a
little
more
expensive.
However,
with
this
perspective
the
project
will
be
held
with
lower
risk
and
we
can
fulfill
our
environmental
and
social
requirements.
Kenneth
Lobo
Méndez,
director
of
planning
and
sustainability
in
electricity
management
at
the
state-run
electricity
utility
Instituto
Costarricense
de
Electricidad
(ICE).
The
Verge
spoke
with
Lobo
Méndez
at
the
Cachí
dam
in
Costa
Rica.
How
is
climate
change
affecting
electricity
generation?
KLB:
That’s
a
big
challenge,
how
to
manage
the
hydropower
resource
in
the
future.
Our
own
studies
have
shown
that
in
the
short
term,
we
won’t
see
a
significant
impact.
In
the
mid
term,
like
in
2030,
in
the
north
of
the
country,
there
will
be
a
decrease
in
rainfall.
Most
of
the
country’s
hydropower
capacity
is
in
the
north.
So,
it
will
be
affected.
In
the
long
term,
what
we
see
is
an
increase
in
hydropower
production
— but
in
the
west
and
south
of
the
country,
mainly
because
rains
will
get
heavier,
more
intense
in
that
region.
Marco
Jiménez
Chavez:
There’s
a
hydroelectric
plant
called
Arenal.
It’s
one
of
the
most
important
plants
in
the
country,
and
it’s
in
the
zone
where
we
expect
lower
precipitation
due
to
climate
change.
In
the
south
of
the
country,
we
will
get
heavier
rainfall.
However,
we
can’t
get
that
rainfall
into
our
system;
our
plants
are
not
ready
to
harness
that
amount
of
water.
So
how
will
you
prepare
for
that?
The
thing
with
a
renewable
energy
system
is
that
you
also
need
to
diversify
so
that
you
won’t
be
subjected
to
only
the
availability
of
water.
You
can
avoid
that
risk
and
share
the
risk
with
the
other
energy
sources.
Hydropower
will
still
be
a
great
percentage
of
the
country’s
energy
mix,
but
new
energy
sources
will
be
added
to
the
system,
for
example:
solar
power
and
wind.
Another
important
source
is
geothermal
because
it’s
the
only
renewable
energy
source
that
does
not
depend
on
climate
variability.
We’ve
got
a
problem
because
hydropower
does
not
have
the
same
variability
as
solar
wind.
So,
if
we
get
more
solar
and
more
wind,
our
system
will
have
more
variability.
So,
we
need
to
get
back
up
to
that
variability.
And
that’s
where
batteries
are
also
important.
Marco
Jiménez
Chavez,
an
engineer
who
works
on
generation
expansion
planning
at
the
state-run
electricity
utility
Instituto
Costarricense
de
Electricidad
(ICE).
The
Verge
spoke
with
Jiménez
Chavez
at
the
Cachí
dam
in
Costa
Rica.
What
effects
did
El
Niño
and
drought
have
in
2023?
KLB:
There
are
two
effects
that
El
Nino
has
on
the
country.
The
first
one
is
on
the
demand
side
because
the
climate
is
hotter,
so
everybody
is
using
the
air
conditioners
and
the
electricity
demand
gets
higher.
The
other
effect
is
a
significant
reduction
in
hydropower
not
only
in
Arenal
but
also
in
other
power
plants
across
the
country.
We
got
a
16
percent
reduction
in
inflow
to
our
hydropower
reservoirs.
In
the
rainy
season,
our
reservoirs
normally
recover.
However,
they’ve
been
extremely
low
in
2023.
So,
our
main
concern
is
that
the
hot
season
in
2024
will
be
a
little
bit
complicated.
Does
drought
lead
to
burning
more
fossil
fuels?
KLB:
We
need
to
have
insurance
for
the
period
when
we
don’t
have
green
power,
we
don’t
have
hydropower.
So,
we
get
a
small
percentage
of
electricity
from
diesel
thermal
power
plants,
but
only
as
a
backup.
Switch
to
renewable
energy.
Stop
deforestation.
Restore
ecosystems.
They’re
lofty
goals
that
more
and
more
corporations
and
governments
are
setting
for
themselves.
If
it
seems
too
ambitious,
just
look
to
Costa
Rica.
It’s
the
first
tropical
country
to
have
reversed
deforestation,
and
it
generates
nearly
100
percent
of
its
electricity
from
renewable
sources
of
energy.
There’s
a
lot
to
learn
from
those
successes
and
even
more
to
gain
from
challenges
the
country
now
has
to
tackle.
Seasons
are
increasingly
unpredictable.
Could
climate
change
upend
past
victories?
Meanwhile,
Indigenous
leaders
face
violence
from
people
trying
to
stop
their
campaigns
to
reclaim
and
reforest
Indigenous
territories.
Can
the
country
undo
a
history
of
land-grabbing?
The
Verge
explored
those
questions
on
the
ground
in
Costa
Rica,
with
support
from
the
International
Center
for
Journalists
and
local
media
organization
Punto
y
Aparte,
and
found
hard-learned
lessons
that
cross
borders.
It’s
suspected
that
diesel
thermal
power
plant
use
will
increase
in
2024
because
of
low
hydropower. Another
resource
that
we
can
tap
is
electricity
from
the
regional
electricity
market
with
Central
American
countries.
However,
because
we
are
in
the
same
region,
they
also
have
the
same
problems.
They’ve
also
got
low
hydropower;
there’s
not
a
lot
of
resources
in
the
region
to
share.
In
the
US,
we’re
used
to
many
smaller
private
electric
utilities.
Does
having
a
national
energy
company
like
ICE
make
it
easier
to
adopt
renewable
energy?
KLB:
In
our
perspective,
yes,
it’s
an
advantage
that
the
planning
is
held
by
a
government
state
company.
It
can
make
a
plan
for
the
country
according
to
the
government’s
vision.
We
only
sell
what
we
need,
and
there’s
no
interference
from
different
stakeholders.
It
makes
the
planning
process
more
simple.
Photography
by
Justine
Calma
/
The
Verge
The
International
Center
for
Journalists
supported
this
reporting,
and
Punto
y
Aparte
contributed
to
the
report.
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