it's a complete fiction, if you bother to look
2.36GW of total hydro generating capacity, 595MW of wind, and 1.64GW of geothermal, as well as interconnectors with Panama and Nicaragua to export excess renewables generation (or import when in nation generation isn't meeting consumption).
With CR's favorable geography for hydro, it'd make a lot of sense for central america to more tightly integrate their electrical grid, similar to how Tasmania's hydro capacity in Australia is used as a "big battery" for the rest of the NEM (eastern AUS electrical grid). In the above link I provide, the interconnectors are shown with real time usage data below generator capacity for each country/grid.
When people say "it's fiction" I think this is a lot of what they mean. If a location is net 100% renewable, say, someone who is 100% solar, so they generate lots of excess in the daytime, but, consume lots on cloudy days and at night and we assume that imported power is very dirty, they might be a net 100% renewable but ultimately they are consuming polluting power. I suspect, with tons of Hydro/Geothermal (which are very on-demand/stable sources) the gross amount of power that costa rica imports is actually quite low and they are actually doing very well (especially compared to others who are "net 100% renewable"), but, I would love to see that figure (gross import %) represented when people talk about being net 100% renewable. Net 100% renewable with 1% gross imports is far more impressive and sustainable than net 100% renewable with 25% gross imports.
Costa Rica does not run 100% on renewables. It's literally and simply a media half-baked feel good fiction.
They still have gas cars, diesel busses, diesel generators, &c.
They still emit tons and tons of carbon. They currently emit 1.64 metric tons per person, more than twice what their neighbors in Nicaragua do.
They're carbon neutral in the greasy, lawyer, "well technically we meant this" way that you should never, ever take seriously.
A Costa Rican has about 1/7 the emissions of an American.
I know it's lovely to pretend, but let's come back to the real world here. These things are easy to look up
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> I would love to see that figure (gross import %)
Then look it up
[1] https://www.hydro.com.au/clean-energy/battery-of-the-nation
Hydro resources are an important component of future grids, as long duration battery storage is pricey (although short duration storage such as Tesla's install at the Hornsdale Power Reserve is critical for ancillary services like frequency response and synthetic inertia, to keep frequency and voltage within tolerances when a thermal generator trips or renewables drop offline).
My understanding is it barely provides enough electricity for the state, and the interconnect is used to consume power from Victoria 99% of the time
Hover over exports on the right hand side. There are imports from VIC occasionally, but Tas Hydro's plan is to build pumped hydro infra [1], as well as an additional interconnector to South Australia [2] which has robust renewables resources.
[1] https://www.hydro.com.au/clean-energy/battery-of-the-nation/...
"That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence." - Christopher Hitchens.
Anyone who would actually listen looked it up when I said it, and learned something.
The redditors demanded a field guide, and got nothing.