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Costa Rica ends clean energy run due to low rainfall

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) saidĀ Thursday that the lack of rains in August forced it to fire upĀ one of its thermal plants on the Pacific coast, ending a clean energy streak that attracted worldwide attention.

In fact, it was the country’s second green streak this year. In August Costa Rica broke its own record byĀ running 94 consecutive days exclusively on renewableĀ energy. It set its previous record in March when it endedĀ 75 days of renewables, ICE reported.

During the second streak, betweenĀ May and August, some 78 percent of the country’s electricity came from hydroelectric power plants; 12 percent from geothermal sources, 10 percent from wind power; and 0.01 percent from solar.

But low water levels in theĀ country’s reservoirs, mainly caused by drought inĀ much of theĀ territory, ended the green energy run.Ā Hydroelectric plants supply some 72 percent of Costa Rica’s electricity needs, according to ICE.

ā€œThe drop in rainfall forced us to use the Garabito thermal plant to meet peaks in electricity needs in late August,ā€ ICEā€™s director of electricity generation Alberto RamĆ­rez said Thursday in a public statement.

RamĆ­rez said reservoirs at PirrĆ­s, south of San JosĆ©, and Ventanas-Garita in Alajuela are the most affected by the lack of rainfall. ICEĀ recorded a 74 percent decrease in the flowĀ of the PirrĆ­s River while an 80 percent decrease in the Virilla River is to blame for low levels at the Ventanas-Garita plant.

Both ICE andĀ National Meteorological InstituteĀ officials attribute this deficit to extreme weather conditions caused by theĀ El NiƱoĀ phenomenon that often produces drought in one part of the country and intense showers in another.

ICE hopesĀ reservoir levels will start to recover this month in order to avoid usingĀ thermal plants, which could lead to electricity rateĀ hikesĀ for its customers.

But RamĆ­rez said the country has enough fuel reserves to use thermal plants again, if necessary. ā€œIt will depend on the behavior of rainfall patterns during the rest of the year,ā€ he said. ā€œThen we will evaluate the need to buy more fuel to support thermalĀ generation for the next dry season.ā€

The state-owned National Power and Light CompanyĀ last weekĀ requested an increase in electricity rates that, if approved, would raise basic rates for customers in the San JosĆ© greater metropolitan areaĀ by 36 percent.

ICEā€™s hydrology department forecasts a slight increase in rainfall levels during September and October.

L. Arias
L. Arias
Reporter | The Tico Times |

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