Costa Rica's ICE secures loan to revamp 22-year-old wind farm

Costa Rican power utility Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) has signed a financing agreement to obtain a CRC-37.4-billion (USD 71.6m/EUR 64.5m) loan to repower its 22-year old Tejona wind farm in Guanacaste province.

The utility said on Thursday it has negotiated the loan with Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), securing a term of 20 years with a variable preferential interest rate indexed to the passive base rate, plus a spread of 2.20%. The loan is denominated in Costa Rican colones and will be repaid monthly.

The full cost of the Tejona upgrade is USD 77.5 million. ICE said it will contribute funds to cover the balance.

The Tejona wind farm is located in Tilaran, in northwestern part of Costa Rica. It had 19.8 MW of installed capacity across 30 Vestas wind turbines when it began operation in 2002.

ICE has been gradually disconnecting the machines due to their obsolescence since 2018, bringing the wind farm’s capacity down to 13 MW today.

Following the repowering, Tejona will have 14 wind turbines and an installed capacity of 42 MW, ICE said.

The company already started dismantling the turbines. Its plan is to bring Tejona back online in the second half of 2026.

Wind power is the third largest contributor to Costa Rica's power mix, behind hydro and geothermal. It accounted for 12.24% of national production last year, according to ICE.

(CRC 1,000 = USD 1.915/EUR 1.724)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!