by Rod Hughes

At last, the Citizen Action Party (PAC) bloc in the Leglisative Assembly agrees with the National Liberation Party and the Libertarian Movement about something: All three would allow ICE, the electric company, to drill in national parks to explore for geotermal energy. The attraction of using volcanic sources is obvious: fossil fuel is expensive and hydroelectric dams cover valuable wilderness and farm land with water and take a long time to build.

Unlike what today’s article in the daily paper La Nacion would have you believe, geothermal power is not pollution-free. The volcanic vapors that escape are laced with sulfur. It is simply much preferable to the alternatives. By drilling a hole 3,000 meters (about 10,000 feet) deep will spin a turbine with volcanic steam rising at an impressive 100 kilometers per hour.

PAC legislator Leda Zamora stated the obvious when she told the paper that the country must do something if “we are not to return to using candles for light.” National Liberation lawmaker Oscar Nunez agreed that the country “must explore every avenue without affecting–in this instance–the national parks.”

Understandably, some ecologists are upset. “Although it is only ICE, there is no way to create (geothermal power) without altering the ecosystem,” warned Luis Diego Marin, president of the Conservation of Flora and Fauna Association. He was thinking not only of the power plant itself but of the string of steel towers carrying high tension cables to get the electricity to the users.

Currently, geothermal power is generated in a plant on the flanks of the Rincon de la Vieja Volocano in Guanacaste province. As far as this newsblog can ascertain, there have been no studies of any effects on the wildlife and plants in the area. Today, the Miravalles plant produces 14% (159 megawatts) of Costa Rica’s electricity, 24 hours per day come rain or shine. A smaller facility at Pailes is under development producing 35 megawatts. Both are just on the edge of Rincon de la Vieja National Park.

But, although ICE estimates that the country has a potential to produce another 865 megawatts, the company also warns that most of the potential in the central and Pacific mountain ranges lie below national parks. The current bill, presented in the 2006 session of the Legislative Assembly, would allow ICE geothermal rights in exchange for making improvements in the national park being used.

Commentary: Despite criticism this newsblog has directed at the country’s branches of government in the past, we must admit that officials here are taking long range actions while in the United States, both major parties seem almost hypnotized into catatonia by the energy crisis.

by Rod Hughes

In an era in which the Arias Administration is doing its best to seek alternatives to imported fossil fuels, 11 electric locomotives languish in the patios of the National Railway System (Incofer), reported the daily La Nacion. Although 1981 models, they can be easily refurbished and placed back on the tracks at a huge savings in diesel used in freight trucks.

The main sticker is the estimated $1 million each it would take to renovate them. But to replace them with new ones would cost $4 million per unit, so the savings is more than just fuel. Currently, the passenger service with northern areas use diesel-electric locomotives, still far more fuel-stingy than moving them by bus or private car, but far from as cheap to run as the electric train.

Added to the cost are repairs to the electric cables and their supports. In the Atlantic side of the possible cargo service in the Central Valley, the costs would be minimal. The Pacific side is another matter, much of the contact cable above the tack being badly worn and even the H-shaped structures supporting them having been cannibalized for other purposes.

But one important factor that has focused the spotlight on the railroads again, after being moribumd since 1995 when the Figueres Administration decided to close down the system as a money-losing venture, is that 78% of the imported fossil fuel importer here goes for transportation, and 66% of that goes to move cargo. (When Incofer became moribumd, petroleum was far below $100 per barrel.) Even diesel locomotives are more efficient

Electrical engineer Luis Diego Bolanos (a former Incofer director) told La Nacion that the railroad can move the same amount of cargo as a semi truck at one-fifth of the cost, even with deisel locomotives. A train can move 1,200 tons of cargo (about 40 trailer loads) on the flat or 800 tons (26 trailer loads) over mountinous terrain. Moreover, the 11 locomotives that have been sitting unused since 1995 are special heavy-duty types quite comparable with new types.

So, if trains are more efficient than trucks, why was Incofer discontinued in 1995? The problem was that trucks could deliver directly while the merchandise had to be transported on the last leg of its sojourn from a central railhead to warehouse or store. But, as we have noted, that was before petroleum soared to $140 per barrel. Today, short haul from the railhead looks more attractive.

by Rod Hughes

The town of Barva, nestled on the flanks of the volcano of the same name above the university city of Heredia, is an art center well worth visiting, revealed a story in the Weekend section of The Tico Times recently. The sculptures in the parks alone are worth the trip to this home of artists.

As reporter Nicholas Ruggia wrote, no one knows why certain communities become centers of creativity. The town of Sarchi is another one, but it is known for crafts, not pure art. But Barva has its own sculptors’ association, which has hosted an international symposium three times since 2004. The first one used wood, the 2005 edition worked in stone and the 2007 symposium in both.

The unique thing about these symposiums is that the artists work for as long as two weeks in the open air with the public looking on as the sculptures taked shape. Another thing that marks these events is that many of the works in stone remain in the central square while the more perishable wooden works adorn the lobbies of several buildings surrounding it.

The small town, even without the art, would be worth visiting just for its typical charm. Nicely set in the wooded area on the mountainside, it has a friendly air and one gets a feeling of how Costa Rica lived until rapid development hit in the 1980s. But the town produces more than sculpture, having been the home of national prizewinners in arts ranging from painting to music.

Another symposium is being tentatively planned for February but don’t wait until then.