Published on Tuesday, October 6, 2026
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Costa Rica plans to invest $200 million to build seven solar power plants with a combined capacity of approximately 170 megawatts, the Electricity Institute (ICE) announced.

The seven plants will be built in the cantons of Puntarenas, Cóbano, Parrita, Garabito and Montes de Oro, all in Puntarenas Province, according to authorities.

Six of the plants will be built by private companies that have received authorization from ICE. The six projects represent an investment of approximately $100 million and are expected to generate a combined 90 megawatts of electricity to provide power to nearby communities.

The seventh plant will be built by ICE in the canton of Montes de Oro. It is expected to have a generation capacity of 80 megawatts and will provide electricity to nearby communities.

The 170 megawatts of new solar generation are expected to produce 347 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity annually, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of approximately 580,000 people.

The clean electricity will benefit the environment because sunlight is converted directly into electrical current through the photovoltaic effect, without burning fuels or creating toxic byproducts.

With the plants in operation, Puntarenas Province is expected to become Costa Rica’s leading coastal area for electricity generation from solar energy, according to Marco Acuña, president of ICE.

Authorities expect the seven clean-energy generation projects to begin operating in 2028.

ICE currently has one major utility-scale solar power plant, known as the Parque Solar Miravalles (Miravalles Solar Park), which has a peak capacity of 1 megawatt (MW) and generates approximately 1.2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity per year. The plant is located in La Fortuna District in Bagaces Canton, Guanacaste Province.

According to the Regulatory Authority for Public Services, or ARESEP, current electricity rates are approximately $3.50 for 30 kilowatts (kW) per month. An additional fee of approximately $1 is charged for each additional 100 kW consumed during a month.

ICE is the state-owned company and main supplier of electricity in Costa Rica. It produces approximately 9,084 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year, representing about 72.3% of the total electricity generated by Costa Rica’s national electric system.

ARESEP is the government agency responsible for regulating public-service rates in Costa Rica.

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Should Costa Rica’s basic electricity rates be reduced as more power is generated from solar energy? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com