Costa Rica strengthened its position as a regional leader in clean energy with a comprehensive strategy that combines new tenders, flagship projects and regulatory reforms.
Coinciding with the start of COP30 , the Central American nation presents itself with an electricity matrix that exceeds 98% renewable generation and a robust plan to sustain that leadership in the medium and long term.
Costa Rica maintains one of the cleanest electricity grids in the world , stated Ana Lucía Alfaro Murillo , Projects Director and senior advisor on energy and sustainability at Biomatec , highlighting the challenge of sustaining that competitive advantage in the face of growing demand and climate impacts.
Between 2026 and 2034, the country will deploy new solar plants, upgrade wind farms and add more than 100 MW of firm geothermal energy.
Specifically, the commissioning of five private and three public solar plants is planned from 2027 onwards, as well as the repowering of the Tejona wind farm in January of the same year.
Meanwhile, the Borinquen I project (55 MW) is already under construction, and Borinquen II and PLB-01 , also geothermal, are expected to be ready by 2032.
"The consolidation of geothermal energy will allow for an increase in the supply of firm and manageable energy in the energy mix ," Alfaro Murillo emphasized.
To meet demand during this transition, ICE is considering the temporary contracting of 240 MW of thermal generation between 2026 and 2028 , ensuring reliability while new projects advance and existing hydroelectric infrastructure is modernized.
The start of COP30 , which begins today, finds Costa Rica in an active position on the international climate agenda.
The country will seek to expand its access to climate finance , appealing to its environmental commitment, despite its recent classification as an upper-middle-income country.
The summit can strengthen the mobilization of international resources, facilitate access to technology and consolidate a portfolio of bankable projects , the executive stated, highlighting the potential of instruments such as debt-for-climate swaps and blended finance to finance geothermal energy, storage and energy efficiency.
However, technical progress has not yet been accompanied by sufficient regulatory modernization.
Costa Rica lacks a formal market for services such as secondary regulation, firm capacity support, or flexibility.
In this context, Alfaro Murillo warned: It becomes essential to define rules that value flexibility and storage , citing the need to recognize technologies such as BESS, hydroelectric plants with reservoirs and modular geothermal energy.
Although Law 10086 (2022) paved the way for self-consumption and energy communities, tariff, interconnection, and administrative obstacles persist . "While progress has been made, tariff, interconnection, and procedural barriers still exist ," noted the director of Biomatec, who proposed a unified operating regulation between ARESEP, ICE, and the distributors.
In parallel, Costa Rica aims to incorporate 120 MW of energy storage with a duration of 4 hours between 2031 and 2034 , although it does not yet have a tariff framework that recognizes its operation, interconnection and remuneration.
One of the technical pillars of the national plan is the implementation of the Transmission Expansion Plan (PET 2024-2034) .
This roadmap includes new lines and substations to evacuate the planned variable generation in Guanacaste, Puntarenas and the Northern Zone, as well as strengthening the interconnection with the Regional Electricity Market (MER) .
It is key to integrate the PET with the National Energy Plan 2025-2035 and climate commitments , Alfaro Murillo emphasized, underlining the importance of long-term energy planning with environmental and social sustainability criteria.
However, bureaucracy remains one of the biggest obstacles to renewable energy deployment , affecting even strategic projects. Many face delays due to overlapping procedures between MINAE, SETENA, CFIA, municipalities, and ICE itself , the interviewee indicated, suggesting a single energy window or a green fast-track system to boost national and foreign investment.
These measures will strengthen the competitiveness of the Costa Rican electricity system and facilitate access to international climate finance , concluded Ana Lucía Alfaro Murillo.