For the second year in a row Costa Rica produced nearly all of its electricity from renewable sources. According to the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), the country went 271 days of 2016 without burning fossil fuel to generate power. Bunker oil—the only fossil feedstock used for power generation—accounted for just 2% of the nation’s electricity during the year, as compared to 1% in 2015. News of the strong renewable-power performance, confirmed with the recent release of official figures, quickly went viral, spurring stories and videos lauding the country’s commitment to green power. The buzz, however, has tended to obscure the country’s heavy reliance on the hydropower sector, which has come in for criticism on environmental grounds. Also overshadowed is the deepening... [Log in to read more]