Last week Costa Rica’s achievement of running on green energy was all over the news. Today, the country gives another big step towards electric independence and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Today, September 16, 2016 Costa Rica inaugurated the biggest hydroelectric plant in Central America, the Reventazon megaproject began working three months before the expected time frame. This is the biggest construction work in the region after the Panama Canal, and it shows Costa Rica’s commitment towards the sustainable use of natural resources.

The Reventazon hydroelectric plant in Siquirres, Limon will provide 305.5 megawatts of power to the National Electric System, that will supply electricity to approximately 525,000 Costa Rican homes; it was built by Costa Ricans (over 4000 workers) for Costa Rica and it should guarantee the country’s electric independence until at least the year 2025.

Costa Rica’s Electric Institute (ICE in Spanish) was in charge of the carrying out of this impressive project that compounds, a reservoir of 7 square kilometers, a filling volume of 300 million cubic squares and five generating units.

Carlos Obregon, executive president of ICE, stated that once the Diquis hydroelectric project in Buenos Aires, Puntarenas is finished and with the strengthening of the program of geothermic energy generation, the demand of electric energy in the country will be guaranteed in a clean and sustainable way through 2035.

284 thousand species of fauna were relocated in safe areas with similar conditions to avoid a big environmental impact; the initiative also included the construction of four roads, seven aqueducts, three health centers and eight multipurpose meeting rooms for nearby communities.

During the construction of the hydroelectric plant, workers discovered items belonging to ancient civilizations in an archaeological site that identified 66 human settlements some of which could be 12,200 years old.