The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved $250 million in financing to strengthen the development of Costa Rica Upgrades Electrical electricity sector to help meet the country’s growing electricity demand, increase competitiveness, and raise living standards.
Costa Rica’s installed electricity capacity in 2011 was 2,650 MW, of which 77 percent was from renewable sources. Although the present installed capacity meets current demand of 1,545 MG, the country’s electric energy expansion plan foresees 5.1 average annual increases in demand. The plan proposes to meet these increases between 2012 and 2024 by adding 1,714 MW of installed capacity, of which 98 percent will be from renewable sources.
Nearly $98 million of the Bank’s financing will co-finance the Reventazón Hydroelectric Project (PHR), which will go online in 2016. The PHR will have an installed capacity of 305 MW, which includes a 13.5 MW mini generating plant at the base of the dam, and an annual production of 1,407 GWh.
The remaining IDB resources will be directed at strengthening ICE’s electric generation, transmission, and distribution capacity.
The program will help to improve the quality of energy supplied throughout the country’s distribution system, electricity coverage in rural areas, and efficiency in consumption.
