SNAPSHOT: Costa Rica's top early stage hydropower projects

Long lead times are inherent in the development of hydroelectric projects, due in large part to complex socio-environmental permitting processes.

BNamericas' Risk Analytics highlights that in the case of Costa Rica's 306MW Reventazón project, which came online last month and is touted as Central America's largest hydroelectric plant, state power company ICE submitted the EIS in 2008.

Another Costa Rican hydropower project in the risk tool is the 650MW Diquís plant which is penciled in to come online in 2023-25 and whose environmental base line studies began in 2006 as part of the first part of the environmental impact evaluation.

As of June, completion of Diquís' works program pre-execution was 78%.

ICE has three other early stage hydroelectric projects in the pipeline: Palmas I and II, RG 430 and Savegre.

Palmas I and II envision respective capacities of 86.6MW and 171.5MW. Prefeasibility studies are near completion.

RG 430 would boast 155.7MW. Feasibility studies are 10% complete, but were suspended until 2018.

In the case of the 154.6MW Savegre project, feasibility studies have been concluded, but the project has been shelved after the government decreed a 25-year environmental moratorium for the Savegre and Pacuare rivers in August 2015.

Pictured: Diquís information meeting (CREDIT: ICE)