Costa Rica's state-run energy provider is looking to take advantage of some of the country's agricultural wastes to produce energy.

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) has formed a commission with the Environment and Energy Ministry (MINAE) to study Costa Rica's biomass potential, according to a statement from the institute.

Not all biomass is economically beneficial, and a lot of research is needed to determine the properties of these wastes and estimate the cost involved in using them to produce energy.

Growers of sugar, rice, coffee, pineapple and palm are among those who could be turning some of their wastes into energy. Getting these farmers on board is another step in the process of making this idea a reality, the statement said.

Biomass technology is already being implemented in some areas in Costa Rica. The husk of rice grains is used to produce energy for the process of drying these grains, and in some rural areas, biogas is being produced from livestock waste.