Costa Rica has been run completely on renewable energy for almost two months

3 months ago

For almost the last two months, Costa Rica has been run solely from renewable energy – bringing their total for 2016 to 150 days and counting, according to Science Alert.

It’s the second time in two years the small Central American country has achieved the feat, proving a life without fossil fuels is very achievable, at least for small countries.

June 16 was the last time fossil fuel-based energy was used, according to the Costa Rica’s National Centre for Energy Control, with a mix of hydroelectric power, geothermal, wind and solar energy keeping the country running.

Like last year though, heavy rainfall has contributed to the achievement, and 100% renewable energy usage is made possible in Costa Rica because of its size – the United States, for example, used around 373 times as much electricity as Costa Rica in 2015.

Even though the feats achieved over the last few years are miles ahead of most other nations around the world, Costa Rica isn’t slowing down. A new hydroelectric project six years in the making will be launched later in September, providing enough energy to power over half-a-million homes.