The government of Costa Rica aims to provide financial and tax facilities for replacing the fleet of public transport with less vehicles that cause less pollution.
They have even announced talks with automakers in Japan and South Korea, for the best prices on the purchase of hybrid vehicles.
Taxi drivers who change their current vehicles for ones that run on electrical power units and fuel, would benefit from a 100% exemption of import taxes.
Will the fuel be included in the state fuel monopoly run by the Costa Rican Oil Refinery?
While all around the world the importance of natural gas as an energy source is growing, the Costa Rica state agency Costa Rican Oil Refinery (RECOPE), which holds a monopoly on crude oil and its derivatives, is preparing its infrastructure for the self-imposed role of sole importer and wholesale distributor of the fuel.
Weaknesses have been pointed out in the project to build a refinery in Costa Rica in partnership with China, such as the lack of studies on the benefits that it will bring in the economic field.
In an article in Elfinancierocr.com by Juan Antonio Rodriguez the author reveals a differences of opinion on the concept of "prefeasibility", with the Minister Rene Castro, head of MINAET, Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica.
Given the failure of the initiatives launched in 2008, the Ministry of Environment and Energy in Costa Rica is studying new ways of incorporating biofuels into the energy mix.
One of the main problems for the successful implementation of the National Biofuels Program, was the failure to have sufficient local supply of ethanol. No one was able to attract the attention of Costa Rican producers of alcohol.
New regulations are being prepared which will raise the quality requirements for gasoline, adhering to international recommendations.
In one month the new regulation will be submitted for consultation by all stakeholders, said the head of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Minae), Rene Castro.
Nacion.com reported quoted the minister who said, "The Minae is studying the recommendations by EPA from the U.S., and EU standards, which suggest a reduction from 8 to 6 milligrams (mg) per liter of gasoline, respectively, of the presence of methylcyclopentadienyl manganese (MMT), instead of the 18 required by U.S. manufacturers. "
The technology installed in the towers is from the 21st Century. The bureaucracy that is authorizing them is from the 19th century.
The progress of communications is getting slower in Costa Rica, with cell phone companies unable to meet the deadlines for achieving the necessary territorial coverage, because municipalities are taking up to 5 ½ months to give permission for each tower.
Six years after having started the program to incorporate it into the energy matrix, the percentage of ethanol in gasoline has fallen by 4.6% in 2006 to 1.4 in 2011.
One of the main problems faced by the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (RECOPE) for the successful implementation of the National Biofuels Program, is that they do not have a local supplier of ethanol.
The Costa Rican Institute of Electricity is inviting water and wind energy generating companies to participate in a tender, although it is not yet clear how it will be priced.
The ICE has announced a tender for the purchase of 140 MW of energy produced from renewable sources, for which $350 million has been allocated.
It will select up to 100 MW from wind energy projects and 40 MW from water at this early stage.
Analysis by two laboratories in Costa Rica has detected pollution above permitted levels in rivers, estuaries and other sites, for which fines will be announced for individuals or companies polluting them.
The Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications of Costa Rica announced an initiative to punish with fines individuals and companies that pollute rivers with waste, starting from 1st June.
The Supreme Court has admitted an appeal against a government decree that prevented oil exploitation concessions for 3 years; Mallon Oil may be able to force the government to sign the contract.
The Sala IV, Costa Rica’s Supreme Court, suspended president Laura Chinchilla’s decree, which prevented the exploitation of hydrocarbons and the granting of permits for three years, until a constitutional complaint made by the Association of Geologists is resolved.
The Constitutional Court has dismissed an appeal brought by the oil company Mallon Oil which requested its contract for oil and gas exploration be signed.
In its ruling, the Constitutional Court informed Mallon Oil that the process they must follow is to make its request via a contentious trial.
"Meanwhile, the National Environmental Technical Secretariat (SETENA) dismissed the appeal for reversal that Mallon Oil filed last July against a resolution asking them to specify in which sites they would initiate the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons ", reported Nacion.com.
Mallon Oil Company has filed an appeal in an attempt to get a contract signed for the exploitation of oil and natural gas.
In the appeal to the Constitutional Court, the company is demanding that the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (Minaet) sign the contract for oil and natural gas exploitation in the south, having one a concession for it in a competitive tender eleven years ago.
The regulator is analysing the final details for the signing of an oil concession in the north of the country to Mallon Oil Company.
Teofilo de la Torre, the Minister for Environment and Energy, said the company over the past ten years has complied with legal procedures and various appeals, in order to get the award, and now the state must respect their commitment.