Costa Rica’s legislature will discuss a bill proposing the exploration and exploitation of geothermal energy in the country’s protected areas, reported local media recently.

Studies carried out by the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) estimate potential geothermal energy generation in the country at 875 MW. The current installed geothermal capacity is 195 MW.

Bill 19,233, which has languished for years, will shortly begin to be discussed in the plenary of the Legislative Assembly. If is approved, generation capacity could increase significantly.

“…The aim of the project is to give the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity, exclusively, a special administrative authorization by the National System of Conservation Areas to exploit geothermal energy (heat from the earth) in national parks or other protected area such as Rincón de la Vieja National Park, Tenorio Volcano National Park, and the Arenal Volcano National Park,” said a report in the main Spanish-language daily La Nación.

According to a statement by Citizen Action Arty Legislator Ottón Solís, promoter of the initiative, the bill includes a fee to be paid by ICE for geothermal resources used to produce electricity. The annual amount of the fee would be 2 percent of the annual gross income that each geothermal project obtains from its electricity sales.