7th National Energy Plan 2015-2030

Laws and Policies

CCLW

CCLW national policies

Law passed

The 7th National Energy Plan 2015-2030, published by Costa Rica's Ministry of Environment and Energy, aims to reach the objective of "energy sustainability with low emission levels" and supports the continuation of renewable energy development, energy efficiency and low-carbon emission transport. Energy currently constitutes 80% of Costa Rica's GHG emissions. 
It complements the National Development Plan 2015 -2018, which also calls for enhancing the use of renewable sources and improving efficiency in the use of energy, especially in the public sector (sectoral objectives 2 and 3). 
The Plan defines energy efficiency and distributed electricity generation as priorities for action and calls for the renovation of the vehicle fleet to include low carbon technologies, the promotion of sustainable public transport and the mainstreaming of clean fuels, in particular biofuels. Altogether, the Plan is organized along seven axes - four in the electricity production sector and three in the transport sector: 
 
<ul> 
<li>Improving energy efficiency</li> 
<li>Optimal distributed electricity generation</li> 
<li>Sustainability of the electricity grid</li> 
<li>Sustainable electricity generation development</li> 
<li>More environmentally friendly vehicle fleet</li> 
<li>Sustainable public transport</li> 
<li>Cleaner fuels</li> 
</ul> 
For each strategical axis, the Plan defines a set of concrete objectives (institutional and administrative reforms, new efficiency standards and certification, tariff adjustments, creation of funds, etc.), with varying deadlines for short/medium/long term. 
Concrete objectives include: 
 
<ul> 
<li>Expand renewable energy projects to reach 731.9 MW by 2018, additional 470 MW over 2019-2023, and additional 910 MW over 2024-2030 (subject to revision)</li> 
<li>Expand the transmission lines by additional 313.5 km by 2018</li> 
<li>Expand the distribution grid by additional 1921 km by 2018</li> 
<li>By 2030, all houses not connected to the grid should have individual photovoltaic systems</li> 
</ul>