Photo: The Expert Vagabon

Costa Rica Has Been Running Entirely on Renewable Energy Since Christmas

Travel
by Morgane Croissant Mar 26, 2015

“THE YEAR 2015 has been one of electricity totally friendly to the environment for Costa Rica,” Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) said in a press release.

Heavy rainfalls have been powering four hydroelectric plants, generating enough electricity to supply the entire country of 4.8 million people for more than three months. No fossil fuels have been used since December 2014 and the small nation is planning on keeping it that way.

According to The Independent, “In a sign of how committed Costa Rica is to renewables the government has decided not to exploit rich oil deposits — discovered along the country’s Caribbean coast — for environmental reasons.”

In 2014, The Costa Rican government approved a $958 million geothermal project. The country plans to be carbon-neutral by 2021.

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