Costa Rica. The National Electric System (SEN) of Costa Rica reached on November 17 the 300 days of 100% generation with renewable sources in 2017, according to data from the National Energy Control Center (CENCE).
To date, the country has accumulated 99.62% of electricity production with its five renewable sources, the highest proportion since 1987. In addition, since May 1, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) has not resorted to thermal backup to generate energy.
This year, 78.26% of electricity has come from water, 10.29% from wind, 10.23% from geothermal energy and 0.84% from biomass and the sun.
"The optimization of the matrix has allowed us to take advantage of the high availability of water. The regulation reservoirs offer us a guarantee to maximize the use of variable sources, mainly edge water and wind, and at the same time dose the contribution of geothermal energy, "explained Carlos Manuel Obregón, executive president of ICE.
In 2015, the SEN recorded 299 days of 100% renewable production, while last year the accumulated reached 271 days. This year, with five weeks to go, it is already 300 days.
Obregón indicated, on the other hand, that 2017 is projected as the year of highest wind energy production in the history of the country. Since last January, this source has contributed 1,014.82 gigawatt hours, from the 16 wind farms located in the provinces of San José and Guanacaste. To the figure must be added what was generated in December, a month in which an increase in the speed of the winds is expected.
Source: ICE Group.
