By Wendy Anders

An alliance between the CNFL electric company and BMW has allowed Costa Rica to offer recharging stations for electric cars in the county.

Two such privately stations already exist, one in Escazú and another in Pinares (Curridabat). The third, which will offer public access, was just inaugurated in La Uruca near downtown San José, reported the CNFL this week.

The BMWi Project has launched this latest station at the BMW facility in La Uruca and will offer free public access for all electric vehicles for two years.

The project is part of ConectaVE, a public-private initiative launched in 2015 by the state electric providers CNFL and ICE to build electric vehicle recharging stations jointly with auto dealers.

For Roy Guzmán, director of strategy and business development at CNFL, this effort demonstrates the benefits of synergistic cooperation between public and private companies “for the benefit of the country.”

Although Costa Rica produces upwards of 90 percent of its own energy from renewable sources such as hydro, wind, solar and geothermal plants, the outmoded ground transportation system is heavily reliant on gas-guzzling vehicles and is a main stumbling block as the country reaches for carbon neutrality by 2021, said Guzmán.

Guzmán said improving access to electric vehicles will aid in decreasing the country’s dependence on imported, polluting hydrocarbons.

For his part, Minister of Environment and Energy Edgar Gutiérrez highlighted the effort and the vanguard role of the CNFL in the field of electric transportation. He said the project helps encourage a change of culture and mentality in Costa Ricans in favor of the environment.

But, at the same time, Gutiérrez stressed that “the state can not do everything,” and said it is therefore necessary to strengthen public-private alliances of this type.