The national electricity generation reached the highest figure last August for a single month, according to the National Energy Control Center (CENCE) records. Between August 1st and 31st, 2019, 1,005.70 Giga-Watt/hour were produced with ICE, CNFL, rural electrification cooperatives, and private generators.
Before last August, the country’s production had not reached or exceeded 1,000 Giga-Watt/hour in a single month. 99.9 %% of the electricity generated in this month came from renewable sources: water, geothermal energy, wind, and sun. Biomass has not contributed since April 2019, when the sugarcane harvest ended.
On the other hand, on August 25th, the National Electric System (SEN) placed 3,343 Mega-Watt/hour in the nations of the region, the majority coming from surplus hydroelectric generation. To date, this is the day with the highest energy exported to the Regional Electricity Market (MER) during 2019.
Geothermal also achieved a milestone the previous week. The generation from volcanic steam closed at 149.74 Giga-Watt/hour for August (14.9% of monthly production) with the 7 plants located in Guanacaste. In 25 years of using this resource in the country, for the first time they exceeded 140 Giga-Watt/hour in a month.
“This year’s generation reflects a robust matrix that can meet national demand and export using renewable sources. We have a level with which many countries are just beginning to dream. From Grupo ICE, and aligned with Strategy 4.0, we will continue to support the National Decarbonization Plan to provide solutions to our customers, aimed at replacing the use of fossil fuels in the home, industry, and transport”, said Marco Acuña, corporate director of Electricity of the ICE.
Since 2015, Costa Rica has managed to exceed 98% of renewable electricity generation every year. So far, in the current 2019, clean energy generation has reached a level of 98.75%.
