Today we left La Fortuna and bussed to Monteverde. It was a very long bus ride and the first half I didn’t have my phone because it was dead and had water in it so I couldn’t charge it. It made the bus trip feel even longer. We stopped at windmills on the top of the mountain and it was very cool. Very very windy. We made a stop at Life Monteverde and had a delicious lunch and then got a tour of the coffee farm. We got to plan beans and corn as well which was really cool. At night, we did a hike through the forest. There were too many bugs for me.
99% of energy in Costa Rica is from renewable sources. Some examples are windmills, hydroelectric, and geothermal. Hydroelectric power is the most used one and provides the most energy for the country. Geothermal energy is the most stable one as it is not affected by weather. Wind power can be very good for the dry season when more energy is needed due to lack of hydropower. The energy in Costa Rica is mostly used for transportation which accounts for 70% of the energy used. The rest is mostly electricity. There are many benefits of renewable energy in Costa Rica. Firstly, by using renewable energy Costa Rica saves significant amounts of money. This is caused by not having to import fossil fuels into the country. Instead they have all the energy they need right in the country. This benefit also plays into not having to deal with outside market prices. Costa Rica is protected from the price fluctuations and geopolitical tensions of international fossil fuel markets. Secondly, by heavily relying on renewable sources, Costa Rica drastically reduces greenhouse gas emissions. This is a main mission of Costa Rica. This also protects the nature in Costa Rica by making it more natural.
The challenges of renewable energy in Costa Rica is the vulnerability to weather. While geothermal is not affected by weather, it does not account for a lot of the energy available. Most of the energy is from hydroelectric so when there are major droughts the grid has to significantly reduce renewable output and turn to fossil fuels. This happened two years ago in 2024 where some places had to go without electricity for some time. When the country has to turn to fossil fuels, it can be expensive. The country has to rent emergency thermal power plants which can be very expensive. They also have to import diesel which can cost the government tens of millions of dollars. Using fossil fuels also dis aligns with the country’s whole mission of being green. Another challenge is the fact that the country has strict environmental laws that prohibit large-scale infrastructure and excavation inside protected areas. This makes it very difficult to fully use the potential energy of active volcanos.
I had a blast today and I am excited for tomorrow’s adventures!
