CATIE promotes efforts for a sustainable energy future

• Work will soon begin to implement the first research project, which consists on the evaluation of a pico-hydroelectric plant on the institution's campus.

March 1, 2023. As part of the efforts being made by CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) to promote the use of renewable energies as tools for rural development and climate change mitigation, a strategic approach was made with ICE (Costa Rican Electricity Institute).

The meeting was attended by Carlos Araya, Director of Business Development, Resource Mobilization and Strategic Alliances of CATIE, César Roque, Coordinator of ICE's Sustainability Process, Ana Gertrud Sánchez, Coordinator of Energy and Electricity Development, Carolina Hernández, Coordinator of the Biogas Program, and Juan Diego Rojas, expert in Energy Distribution and Transmission and Electricity Development. CATIE was also represented by Richard Rortvedt, Representative of the institution in Washington DC.

The opportunity was used to discuss Costa Rica's current situation regarding renewable energy production, its interests and research in this regard, as well as energy development plans for the coming years. However, the meeting was an excellent occasion to explore the potential of CATIE and ICE to develop joint research projects for a better sustainable energy future.

"The interest is in a joint collaboration that includes research on new low-scale technologies for renewable energy production and a training and capacity building program in this area. The first research project, which consists of the evaluation of a pico-hydroelectric plant on the CATIE campus, will soon begin to be implemented, as well as defining the initial training areas," said Araya. (A pico-plant system is a small capacity hydroelectric plant that generates between 1 and 5 kW of electrical energy from a hydraulic turbine and a generator coupled to its axis).

Also participating in the initiative was Scott Sklar, a renewable energy expert with more than 40 years studying, implementing and teaching renewable energy projects in the United States, who is also a professor at George Washington University and director of the Energy Center of that university and a visiting professor at CATIE.

The final objective of the rapprochement is the renewal of the CATIE-ICE Agreement, which will allow us to continue working on the development of this type of clean energy projects in Costa Rica.