Costa Rica has received its entire electricity needs from renewable energy sources in 2016.

Almost all Costa Rica's electricity was produced by renewable energy in 2016, continuing its reputation as a “verdant gem” among a pile of “black coal rocks”.

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) said that around 98.1 per cent of the country’s electricity came from green sources.

These included large hydropower facilities, fed by a myriad of rivers and heavy seasonal rains, geothermal plants, wind turbines, solar panels and biomass plants.

The country used carbon-free electricity for more than 250 days last year with a continuous 110-day stretch from 17 June until 6 October.

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