The Costa Rica News (TCRN)-The first of 17 radars to be installed in the country for environmental protection and monitoring of marine resources will be set up on Cocos Island, announced Costa Rican authorities last Wednesday.
This radar will cost $ 2 million and will be powered by the hydroelectric plant Olivier, which also needs to be built.
José Lino Chaves, Deputy Minister of Agua y and Mares, emphasized the importance of this project for environmental monitoring and for safeguarding coastal marine resources in Cocos Island within 100 miles of sea surrounding it.
Teofilo de la Torre, CEO of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), delivered the official plans of the pipeline that will carry power to the radar in Cocos Island, donated by ICE and financially supported by Costa Rica Por Siempre Association and International Conservation.
The equipment will have a satellite connection for easy control and monitoring, while the pipeline will stretch 700 meters from the surveillance house to the radar.
It is estimated that the first radar will be installed in March of 2014. The monitoring center required to transmit the information received from the radar will be located on Presidio hill, which is in the island.
Both will feed on the energy generated by the hydroelectric plant Genius, which currently operates on the island, and on Olivier hydroelectric plant, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2014. The latter is funded by the Embassy of Japan and administered by the Fundacion de Amigos of Cocos Island (FAICO).
The National Coast Guard Service will administrate the system, which will be interconnected with Sinac and the Marine Conservation Area Cocos Island (ACMIC in Spanish). Officials of the island will operate the equipment.
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose, Costa Rica
