In Costa Rica Successful Fair Promotes Biogas Energy Generation from Residues
The Fair provided a platform for the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity to offer their experience regarding products, services and credit lines available on a regional level
San José, August 8, 2014. - Costa Rican agroindustrial producers and businessmen had the opportunity to learn about different business opportunities in the field of biogas energy generation and the different financing and credit guarantee alternatives available on the market to back this kind of project.
During the “First Fair on Biogas Energy Generation from Residues,” Hazel Cepeda, manager of the CABEI Office in Costa Rica, discussed the financial mechanisms and facilities that CABEI offers for this kind of undertaking. She noted that the Bank has two projects, “Accelerating Renewable Energy Investment in Central America and Panama” (ARECA) and the “Green MSME Initiative,” which provide different kinds of financial options for renewable energy projects.
Ms. Cepeda stated that the programs offer partial credit guarantees and financing through the Costa Rican commercial banking system, as well as non-reimbursable technical cooperation through a Technical Assistance Program to support clean energy entrepreneurs who wish to invest in environmentally-friendly projects.
The partial credit guarantee facility is offered by the ARECA Project, a tripartite initiative involving the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and CABEI, with contributions from the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Relations. Its objective is to support both Costa Rican financial institutions and clean energy producers to foster the Costa Rican energy sector by means of providing financing for the implementation of green projects in order to increase the role of renewable energy in the regional energy matrix.
The Green MSME Initiative is a tripartite initiative involving CABEI, Germany’s KfW Development Bank and the European Union in the framework of its Latin American Investment Facility (LAIF). It provides financing amounting to US$44.5 million for small-scale renewable energy projects and for energy efficiency; the funds are channeled through CABEI’s extensive network of IFIs.
The Initiative also has a US$3.5 million technical cooperation program aimed at providing technical assistance to financial institutions, energy audits for MSMEs and feasibility studies for renewable energy projects, as well as promoting and raising awareness about the field of green energy.
CABEI is the region’s principal source of financing for development. Its 2010-2014 Institutional Strategy, “Competitiveness with Integration and Social Development” promotes energy generating initiatives from hydro, wind, biomass, geothermal and solar sources, thereby contributing to a reduction in the greenhouse gasses that cause climate change.
Through its ARECA Project and Green MSME Initiative, CABEI promotes innovative solutions to spur the development and execution of renewable energy projects by facilitating credit access through partial credit guarantees for IFIs that promote the sustainable development of the Central American region.
