Nicaragua has progressed very fast from fossil fuel dependence towards reliance on renewable energy.
The nation has drastically changed its energy footprint with an intensive goal of achieving green-energy that has drawn many admirers from all over the world to watch the revolutionary growth.
In July 29, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the windmills near this city on Lake Nicaragua and was impressed by the achievements of the facility.
The swiftness shown by Nicaragua to adapt new renewable energy projects corresponds to its rise from a crisis of endless blackouts.
Earlier, a power rationing of up to 12 hours a day was common in the area, said, Lizeth Zuniga, executive director, Renewable Energy Association of Nicaragua.
In 2005, a law was passed giving renewable-energy companies a tax concession, allowing duty-free equipment and machinery import.
Over the course of a 10-year period, the country planned to move from 80 percent oil dependency to 80 percent dependency on renewables, said, Javier Chamorro, head, ProNicaragua, an export promotion agency.
On seeing the benefits of the new tax and equipment-import enticements, private companies winged in. A number of wind parks sprung up and sugar producers built plants to turn sugar-cane stalks into fuel. U.S. and Canadian companies explored heat reservoirs around the 19 volcanoes in the country.
In addition, Nicaragua tapped its rich geographical rewards. It is a land of stable winds, vast lakes, tropical sun and deep volcanoes.
Luis Alberto Moreno, the president of Inter-American Development Bank, hailed Nicaragua’s evolution as unprecedented energy transformation.
Once the geothermal plant installed by Ram Power reach a production capacity of 72 MW, Nicaragua can save the purchase of 889,551 barrels of fuel oil each year.
In 2013, Nicaragua generated 51 percent of its electricity from renewable sources and the goal is to reach 74 percent by 2017. By 2020, the target to achieve is 90 percent renewable generation.
So far, Nicaragua is tapping the surface of its potential in renewable energies only, which is estimated at 4,500 MW from hydro, geothermal and wind.