| Abstract |
Geothermal energy production in Costa Rica began in early 1994 with the first unit (Unit 1 - 55 MW) located at the Miravalles geothermal field in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE), aware of the economic and environmental benefit that this type of energy represents, developed the Miravalles geothermal field in just one decade (1994-2004) to its present capacity of 163 MW. Additionally, ICE is expanding the installed capacity by 35 MW with the construction of a new geothermal project called Las Pailas, located on the south-southwest slope of the Rincón de la Vieja volcano. Global Warming consists of an increase of the mean atmospheric temperature due to human activity (Gore, 2007). Fossil fuels and deforestation, to name two examples, increase the quantities of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which then retains more heat and the planet is re-heated. ICE began to change its initial energy model (hydro energy + thermal energy) in 1994, and has since been continuously modifying it to a new scheme (hydro energy + geothermal energy + wind energy + others). The present task is to increase the installed capacities of all these renewable energies and decrease or eliminate the thermal generation. Geothermal energy is considered “green energy” because it emits very little sulfur and no oxides of nitrogen, both of which are responsible for acid rain. The geothermal fields live in harmony with the surrounding environment; in Costa Rica there are no reports of impacts on fauna and its habitat, or on the landscape of the zone, when utilizing mechanisms to camouflage installations and pipelines. The indigenous nature of the resource has reduced the country’s dependence on foreign sources of energy as well as its dependence on oil. The high availability and reliability (i.e., production is not affected by dry periods) of the geothermal energy in Costa Rica has been demonstrated by the high load factors (between 82 and 87%) achieved during the last 8 years of electricity generation. Emissions of carbon dioxide from Costa Rica’s geothermal plants have been between 15 and 100 kilograms per megawatt-hour (MWh), which makes geothermal generation one of the least contaminating energies in the world. |