Even my vacation thoughts are about renewable energy

I just got back from Costa Rica, which has, for the last decade, famously relied on a diverse mix of renewable energy to power its 11 TWh grid, part of a long-standing national tradition of protecting the earth and a strategy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Although Costa Rica is not densely populated, with 5.5 million permanent residents, the county gets 3 million visitors each year, all of whom rely on a stable electricity supply. While I was there, the country was running largely on hydro and wind power. It’s not perfect, and they still rely on thermal generation at times, but the system feels resilient and predictable.

The first half of my trip was exploring the Arenal Volcano region which provides the region with an abundance of geothermal energy, and amazing hot springs that my family and I enjoyed! But hydropower is king in Costa Rica. At the base of the volcano is Lake Arenal which provides Costa Rica with 12% of its total electricity generation. During the rainy season, 75% of Costa Rica’s energy comes from hydroelectricity. To get to the Arenal area from Liberia Airport, one must drive through Tilarán which consists of nine wind farms that produce over 400 MW of electricity, which is crucial during the dry season when hydroelectric power is diminishing.

Costa Rica’s solar energy sector is currently in a phase of rapid expansion. While there’s only 109 MW of installed capacity right now, there will be 270 MW operating within the next 12 months.

Costa Rica vs Cuba

On the contrary, you can look at what’s happening in Cuba for its 11 million residents. Rolling blackouts, grid instability, and an oil supply deterred by political unrest. Cuba’s 15 TWh system is heavily reliant on aging, oil-fired generation that struggles under pressure from fuel shortages, infrastructure constraints, and extreme weather. While the Cuban government has set a goal of getting over one-third of their energy from renewables by 2030, and even this feels ambitious due to a lack of foreign investment and capital. There’s also a promise by China to build 2,000 megawatts of solar capacity in Cuba, but that alone won’t stabilize the grid.

It’s not just an energy story, it’s an economic one, and a quality-of-life issue. And increasingly, a workforce issue. Because behind every megawatt that doesn’t get delivered, there’s a gap somewhere in planning, investment, execution, or talent.

Costa Rica didn’t get to high renewable penetration overnight. It required decades of investment not just in infrastructure, but in engineering capability, grid planning, and operational expertise. Hydro plants and wind farms need to be maintained and optimized by skilled technicians and engineers. A resilient grid is, at its core, a human system.

In markets still heavily dependent on fossil generation due to policy, economics, or geography, there’s often a parallel gap in workforce development. The skill sets required to operate legacy thermal plants don’t fully translate to integrating distributed renewables, managing intermittency, or deploying battery storage at scale. We’re seeing that play out globally, and increasingly here in the U.S.

Demand for roles like grid integration engineers, commissioning managers, and energy storage specialists continues to outpace supply. The industry talent pipeline hasn’t caught up to the complexity of the systems we’re now building. The lesson from places like Costa Rica isn’t just that renewables can work. It’s that they require a different kind of workforce strategy. A lesson that Cuba needs to learn, and one that the U.S. needs to keep studying!

Hiring advice for young professionals

Do you know young climate-minded professionals looking for job searching opportunities and advice? I recently worked with Rob Jordan at Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment on his recently published article geared to graduate students pursuing careers in the environmental sector. Read my take, along with the input of other CEOs in the field.

Hiring top clean energy talent in Q2?

If you’re planning to build or expand your team this year, now is the time to start the conversation. We’re happy to help you think through timing, compensation, and hiring strategy — before the market gets crowded again. Let me know if you'd like to discuss this virtually, you can book time with me using the link here.

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If you are currently exploring a new job in your renewable energy career, we invite you to have a look at our careers portal. Refer a candidate to EnergeiaWorks and if they get hired, we’ll send you an EnergeiaWorks solar backpack with a $1,000 check. Visit our website to submit!