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| (Courtesy CIA.gov) |
Congress in Costa Rica will discuss a bill that proposes the exploration and exploitation of geothermal energy in national park lands.
Studies carried out by the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) estimate potential geothermal energy generation in the country at 875 MW, where current installed capacity is 195 MW. If bill 19.233, which will finally begin to be discussed in the Plenary of the Legislative Assembly, is approved, generation capacity could increase significantly.
Nacion.com reports that "...The aim of the project is to give the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE), exclusively, a special administrative Sinac authorization to exploit geothermal energy (heat from the earth) in national park lands or other forms of protection such as National Park Rincón de la Vieja, Tenorio Volcano National Park and the Arenal Volcano National Park."
"... According to Deputy Ottón Solís, promoter of the initiative, the bill includes the Institute paying a fee for geothermal resources for the production of electricity. The annual amount of the fee would be 2% of the annual gross income that each geothermal project obtains from its electricity sales."
