GWEC and Costa Rican energy agencies join forces to create a route for offshore wind development in Costa Rica

Brussels, 1 September 2021 | Today, the Global Wind Energy Council together with the Vice-ministry of Energy and Environmental Quality (MINAE) of Ministry of Environment and Energy and Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) have kicked-off a joint initiative to build knowledge about the local benefits of offshore wind and explore pathways for its future development and growth in Costa Rica.

The closed-door workshop, which takes place on 1 and 2 September, brings together representatives from across the public and private sector and key stakeholders in Costa Rica, to enhance understanding of the scope of benefits, costs, and other challenges and opportunities for offshore wind development in the country.

With a total offshore wind technical potential of 14 GW, of which near of 1 GW is fixed-bottom offshore wind and 13 GW is floating offshore wind, Costa Rica has the potential to become a first mover for offshore wind in Central America. Building up an offshore wind industry could generate numerous local and regional socioeconomic benefits, from driving decarbonisation and providing affordable electricity, to sustainable job creation.

As an abundant, scalable, cost-competitive, and reliable source of renewable energy, offshore wind is an important pillar of the global energy transition and can play a key role in realising Costa Rica’s net-zero by 2050 target as outlined in the country’s National Decarbonisation Plan.