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Costa Rica Has Run on 100% Renewable Electricity for 299 Days

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Re: Costa Rica Has Run on 100% Renewable Electricity for 299 Days

#11

Post by leesalminen »

JohnHaugeland wrote: post #7
belval wrote: post #3

Is there an easy answer as to why Costa Rica is doing so well? They seem to be a bit of an exception in Central/South America. EDIT: From Wikipedia "It is known for its long-standing and stable democracy, and for its highly educated workforce, most of whom speak English. The country spends roughly 6.9% of its budget (2016) on education, compared to a global average of 4.4%. Its economy, once heavily dependent on agri…

they're tiny, non-industrial, and they don't track brownouts

I live part-time in Costa Rica. Brownouts occur 1-4x every day. It’s usually just a few seconds and not all that bad. The worst part is when you have to restart the dishwasher.

Re: Costa Rica Has Run on 100% Renewable Electricity for 299 Days

#12

Post by hannob »

belval wrote: post #3

Is there an easy answer as to why Costa Rica is doing so well? They seem to be a bit of an exception in Central/South America. EDIT: From Wikipedia "It is known for its long-standing and stable democracy, and for its highly educated workforce, most of whom speak English. The country spends roughly 6.9% of its budget (2016) on education, compared to a global average of 4.4%. Its economy, once heavily dependent on agri…

Mix of a country well suited for hydropower (+geothermal) and political will.

It's obviously easier for a country with lots of hydropower to go 100% renewable, as you have a potentially flexible source that not everyone has.

Re: Costa Rica Has Run on 100% Renewable Electricity for 299 Days

#13

Post by spenrose »

Renewables are getting much cheaper every year:

* In 2020, the global weighted-average levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from new capacity additions of onshore wind declined by 13%, compared to 2019.

* Over the same period, the LCOE of offshore wind fell by 9% and that of utility-scale solar photovoltaics (PV) by 7%.

Source: https://www.irena.org/publications/2021/Jun/Renewable-Power-...

Re: Costa Rica Has Run on 100% Renewable Electricity for 299 Days

#14

Post by belval »

leesalminen wrote: post #11
JohnHaugeland wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

they're tiny, non-industrial, and they don't track brownouts

I live part-time in Costa Rica. Brownouts occur 1-4x every day. It’s usually just a few seconds and not all that bad. The worst part is when you have to restart the dishwasher.

I've read about expats praising Costa Rica for its low costs and beautiful properties that foreigners can buy. How was your experience there?

Re: Costa Rica Has Run on 100% Renewable Electricity for 299 Days

#15

Post by leesalminen »

samfisher83 wrote: post #10
belval wrote: post #3

Is there an easy answer as to why Costa Rica is doing so well? They seem to be a bit of an exception in Central/South America. EDIT: From Wikipedia "It is known for its long-standing and stable democracy, and for its highly educated workforce, most of whom speak English. The country spends roughly 6.9% of its budget (2016) on education, compared to a global average of 4.4%. Its economy, once heavily dependent on agri…

Lots of wind and hydro. Plus they use 1/6th energy of us. Edit: why the downvotes? Just because I mentioned they use way less power than the US?

Hydro is a huge part of it. The amount of water flowing from the mountains to the ocean is almost incomprehensible for a Coloradan like me.

Re: Costa Rica Has Run on 100% Renewable Electricity for 299 Days

#16

Post by BitwiseFool »

bb101 wrote: post #9

Where did Costa Rica go so right ? In the news it always appears to be a bastion of moderation and success, especially when compared to its neighbours.

Costa Rica is a small nation with favorable geography, a great balance of population and density with some fantastic externalities that let them focus on domestic affairs.

Re: Costa Rica Has Run on 100% Renewable Electricity for 299 Days

#17

Post by leesalminen »

belval wrote: post #14
leesalminen wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live part-time in Costa Rica. Brownouts occur 1-4x every day. It’s usually just a few seconds and not all that bad. The worst part is when you have to restart the dishwasher.

I've read about expats praising Costa Rica for its low costs and beautiful properties that foreigners can buy. How was your experience there?

It took about 2 months of us being there to pull the trigger and buy a house.

Costs for most things are low, except for cars. Cars are insanely expensive due to the ~50% import tax. Electricity is also fairly expensive per KWH.

The people are very nice and generally welcoming to foreigners.

You never run out of things to do, either. There’s always another adventure to explore.

Fiber internet is accessible in most areas I’ve been to. Pretty reliable to boot. I’ve never had an issue Zooming etc.

It really is extremely beautiful.

Overall, we have very few complaints about the country.

Re: Costa Rica Has Run on 100% Renewable Electricity for 299 Days

#18

Post by jsjsbdkj »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #4

> Because of that, the country has an abundance of geothermal renewable sources that account for much of the necessary energy to make the country successfully function. >Also, Costa Rica can get a lot of rain. With consistent rainfall, their hydroelectric plants can produce a plethora of energy. While wind and solar get most of the headlines, it seems that geothermal and hydroelectric are actually more useful in goin…

Quebec gets most of its eletric power from hydroelectric sources (95%), while Ontario gets >60% from nuclear and 26% from hydroelectric. It's wild to compare the breakdown compared to western, oil-rich provinces which are basically 50-50 natural gas and coal-powered.

It's also depressing to see how electricity is a distant third to gas and other petroleum products in terms of energy demand - even though the eletric supply is almost 100% renewabe, all those transport trucks and cars far outweigh it.

https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/pr...

Re: Costa Rica Has Run on 100% Renewable Electricity for 299 Days

#19

Post by JohnHaugeland »

leesalminen wrote: post #11
JohnHaugeland wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

they're tiny, non-industrial, and they don't track brownouts

I live part-time in Costa Rica. Brownouts occur 1-4x every day. It’s usually just a few seconds and not all that bad. The worst part is when you have to restart the dishwasher.

four brownouts a day is an instant kill for industry

despite that you're okay with it, most heavy users of power aren't

the reason they're omitting this from the reporting is that the reporting just isn't true

Re: Costa Rica Has Run on 100% Renewable Electricity for 299 Days

#20

Post by JohnHaugeland »

hannob wrote: post #12
belval wrote: post #3

Is there an easy answer as to why Costa Rica is doing so well? They seem to be a bit of an exception in Central/South America. EDIT: From Wikipedia "It is known for its long-standing and stable democracy, and for its highly educated workforce, most of whom speak English. The country spends roughly 6.9% of its budget (2016) on education, compared to a global average of 4.4%. Its economy, once heavily dependent on agri…

Mix of a country well suited for hydropower (+geothermal) and political will. It's obviously easier for a country with lots of hydropower to go 100% renewable, as you have a potentially flexible source that not everyone has.

it's a complete fiction, if you bother to look
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