The University of Costa Rica, Yo Emprendedor, the Solar Professional Academy of the Americas, Purdue University and the NGO SNV of the Netherlands Development Organization received economic support from the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) to develop projects and clean energy policies.

These organizations participated in the Clean Energy Regional Competition, announced last year by the State Department in order to stimulate the development of clean energy technologies, the adoption of policies for clean energy or both.

U.S. Ambassador Anne Andrew, highlighted the fact that this cooperation arises from the mutual desire of the governments of the United States and Costa Rica, with the primary purpose of achieving sustainable development.

U.S. Ambassador Anne Andrew

“We should also note the effort of our nations to reduce their dependency on hydrocarbons and to promote clean energy technologies and policies, as well as greater energy efficiency in all sectors. The grants announced today are possible thanks to the commitment of President Barack Obama’s initiative the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas announced during the Fifth Summit of the Americas held in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009,” said Ambassador Andrew.

The projects being financed are:

Yo Emprendedor: Mobilize the Private Sector through a Clean Energy Business Competition.
University of Costa Rica (UCR): Sustainable Models for Coffee Milling in Central America.
Solar Energy International (SEI): Training Solar Professionals; with which Earth University will cooperate.
Purdue University and University of the West Indies (UWI): Deployment of Distributed Solar & Solar/Thermal Energy Systems in the Caribbean.
SNV an NGO established by the Netherlands’ development organization: Generation of Electricity from Biogas