Opportunities for renewable energy electrification in remote areas of Costa Rica

Perspectives on Global Development and Technology. Online Publication Date: 10 Dec 2019Countries around the world are politically driven to move toward a low-carbon future by embracing renewable energies technologies for electricity generation. With abundance of renewable energy resources, Costa Rica has produced over 95% of its electricity from hydro, geothermal and wind power plants. Only 1% of its population live without electricity, mainly in remote territories where rural off-grid electrification is very challenging. The purpose of this research is to understand the opportunities to reach universal electricity access in Costa Rica by using renewables. This paper highlights that a greater level of engagement is needed from local leaders develop efficient solutions. There are more opportunities to access funding schemes if projects are linked with the education sector. Hence, financial and technical support from external entities can be granted supporting the sustainability of the power systems and its expected socio-economic outcomes. This funding scheme can be replicated in other developing countries

Sustainability of community renewable energy initiatives in Central America

Community Renewable Energy (CRE) projects promise to play a pivotal role for achieving universal energy access and sustainable development for off-grid communities in developing countries (DCs). When community-based organisations own and operate Renewable Energy (RE) systems, some of the problems associated with private or utility rural electrification models can be diminished, controlled, or solved locally including lack of investment, social integration of RE technologies, local capabilities and on-going maintenance. However, despite the benefits, specific challenges for CRE reported in the literature indicate that sustainability after commissioning of such projects remains a major issue hindering wider adoption.A better understanding of community capabilities, appropriate project design, and enabling external environments can support future sustainable CRE projects. In this thesis, the Central America sub region is studied to provide insights for further deployment of CRE in DCs. Field investigation conducted over eight months allowed comparative analysis of relevant cases across Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Sustainability assessment of selected cases included techno-economic analysis of RE power systems and qualitative social research.Three new CRE case studies were developed: Boca de Lura, Aprodelbo, and Coopeguanacaste. Findings highlight that critical needs and barriers for CRE in Central America relate more to legal, organisational and political aspects; rather than social, technical or environmental ones. There are opportunities for strategic design and policy to support new CRE initiatives, particularly given the growing political interest and increasing availability of modern rural electrification technologies, e.g. solar PV, mini-hydro and hybrid minigrids.Beyond the case studies, the construction of a multi-criteria capability-based framework for sustainability assessment of CRE projects stands as the main contribution from this research. This framework can be used as a planning tool for new projects and programs, as well as a monitoring and evaluation approach for existing ones. Fieldwork results, the assessment framework, and proposed policy recommendations can together assist decision-making by CRE stakeholders, support policy-making and regulation, allow practical knowledge exchange in DCs, and create bridges for future research in the CRE field

Community renewable energy in Panama: a sustainability assessment of the “Boca de Lura” PV-Wind-Battery hybrid power system

This paper presents a case study of a community renewable energy project implemented in the community of “Boca de Lura” located in rural Panama. This is a 2.17 kW stand-alone PV-Wind-Battery hybrid power system supplying energy to a local school also serving as a community facility. A novel sustainability assessment framework is used to examine the Boca de Lura experience and future perspectives for the power system and the project as a whole. The main challenges for Boca de Lura are discussed and recommendations to overcome some of the obstacles encountered are provided. Findings suggest that, even though the project was successfully implemented, its long-term operation is jeopardized due to non-technical aspects rather than technical ones. A potential solution is upgrading the stand-alone system into a minigrid; however, more studies and external advice are required to understand the implications for Boca de Lura, local institutions and possible national and international sponsors