Abu Dhabi-based energy firm Masdar and state-run utility Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) have signed an MoU to share technical knowledge and project experience for renewable energy development.
The agreement aims to promote collaboration in utility-scale and off-grid power generation, floating solar PV technology, smart cities technology, and battery storage. The two companies also hope to offer advisory services to other Latin American and Caribbean countries on energy diversification.
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Costa Rica ran entirely on renewable energy for 300 days of 2017, with nearly 80% of its power coming from hydroelectric sources, around 10% from wind energy, and the rest from biomass and solar power.
Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, chief executive of Masdar, said: “Like the UAE, Costa Rica has been a pioneer of renewable energy. The obvious synergies between our two countries have the potential to yield a number of promising clean energy opportunities, here in the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, regions experiencing rapidly growing domestic power demand and also the emergence of a robust, commercially viable renewable energy sector. We’re excited to pursue this partnership with our friends at ICE.”
Eugenia Gutierrez, member of the board and director of ICE, said: “Masdar shares similar views on leveraging renewable energy for a better, more sustainable, cleaner, and greener economy of the future. Costa Rica, with its decades of expertise, technology and know-how – which has achieved close to 100% renewable energy generation – looks forward to partnering with Masdar for a mutually successful engagement, and to help third parties in their quest to change their energy matrix.”
Masdar hopes to expand its presence in Latin America and the Caribbean, having already announced at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2018 collaborations with the Argentina Jujuy province and the Government of Colombia. The company is also supporting the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development in the deployment of the US$50 million UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund, which will deploy projects in 16 countries over the next three years. This year, the Fund will complete battery storage and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, in addition to solar PV installations, in the Bahamas, Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
It's the latest such agreement for Masdar, which also recently signed an MoU with the Korea Energy Agency (KEA) for renewable energy collaboration and investment between South Korea and the UAE.
