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Renewable energy has been Costa Rica's sole source of power for over 94 consecutive days, and continues to push for more. Officials estimate that for the entire year of 2015, at least 93 percent of all the electricity generated in the country will be from clean energy sources.
The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) announced Wednesday that the country did not have to turn to fossil fuels at any time between May 8 and August 9 of this year, marking a record period without fossil fuels.
Instead, the small Central American nation turned to hydroelectric and geothermal energy, which accounted for 89.94 percent of all electricity, while the rest came from wind farms, which generated 10.05 percent, and solar plants, which accounted for 0.01 percent.
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The country has since fired up its thermal power plant, which uses bunker fuel, but its use will remain limited.
Luis Pacheco, the head of electricity for ICE, said the last three months reflect the “diversity” of the country's natural resources, and thereby its energy sources, which gives them “broader independence” from having to rely on fossil fuels.
Earlier this year, the country went 75 consecutive days without resorting to the use of fossil fuels from the period January 1 to March 16. In 2014, the country went a total of 188 days using solely renewables.
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