Solar Energy in Costa Rica – An Interview with Jason Borner.
Canadian born, Borner moved to Costa Rica permanently some fifteen years ago and established himself deep in the Osa Peninsula near to the Panama border in the south-east of the country. This rural and isolated region is an ideal market for his kind of business.
Poderco’s services can provide the power, water, communications and access to areas that you may have thought impossible as a place to settle.
This means that more remote properties, often sold at a fraction of more accessible places can be included on a list of realistic purchase options. This goes for your dream home, farm or a business venture such as establishing an eco-lodge.
Catching Those Rays
As his blurb goes: “Power from the sun!! One of the most reliable and quickest ways to gain independence from low-quality grid supplied power and high electric bills. Solar power can deliver your water, power your tools, light your home and refrigerate your goods!
Poderco will guide you through the steps needed to accurately assess your current energy consumption and where you can save energy. Then, we will show you how to apply alternative energy solutions!”
With over ten years’ experience in remote living projects, Borner can speak with authority. He has a team of three multi-lingual and qualified technicians that can install complete solar energy and hydro-electric systems, AC/DC photo-voltaic electric systems, solar powered pumps for domestic water or crop irrigation as well as offering a comprehensive catalog of relevant products with installation, maintenance and full guarantee provided in the package.
As Borner says, the service is offered to “anyone who would like to conserve energy, help the environment or who does not have access to the electrical grid. The most important benefits are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supplying energy to people that otherwise would not have it.”
This fits in neatly and practically with Costa Rica’s continuing commitment to preserving its rich environmental heritage whilst balancing a growing dependence on the tourist industry as a major revenue resource for the government.
Borner constantly searches the net for new markets and innovative solutions to help serve his customers better. However, he stresses that personal consultation and assessment are fundamental when creating the ideal package for each customer.
The Sun Shines in Town Too
However, Poderco is not limited to the outposts of rural Costa Rica. The company provides alternative energy options for urban properties too. Location is not an issue here as Borner’s personal philosophy succinctly shows, “I would like my clients to step out of the box of normal thinking and realize how wasteful our society is.
I can live in a house with all the comforts that we have grown to expect in the western world using a fifth of the energy of a normal household. In building a new home it can be designed from the ground up to be efficient and produce all of its own energy. We are just lazy and don’t see that there is a better way.
We are going to run out of oilà.if the world started making a collective effort in solar energy the overall cost would plummet and it would be affordable for everyone.”
This is still an unexploited area as electricity prices are relatively inexpensive but with likely increases by up to 20%, Borner expects to hear much more from urban dwellers reluctant to pay the extra. Savings can be made, with solar heated domestic water, low-energy refrigerators and low energy light bulbs. However, even clients with access to the grid often require back up in case of black-outs and invest in inverters or generators to ensure energy reliability.
Borner emphasizes the cost-effectiveness of applying alternative energy systems. At Poderco, “we are constantly searching for new technology and applications where our products will work for our customers and we try to make them pay for themselves as fast as possible.”
What’s Involved?
Once you decide that alternative energy is for you, Poderco moves in to do a complete assessment of your property whether located in town or the most isolated of hill-tops.
Using aerial surveys and topographical map studies, the technicians look over the property using anything from plane, car boat or horse!
Complete solar system packages include batteries, inverters, control systems, photo-voltaic panels, cables and mountings (roof, ground, trackers & top-of-pole), depending upon geographic location.
Water needs are carefully analysed and catered for. From basic domestic usage to land irrigation to swimming pool installation, water source location, storage systems, purification and heating are part of the service.
Efficient communications are also possible with current GMS digital phones that allow voice and data transmission, making e-mail possible with an ordinary cell phone. Satellite communications don’t come cheap but when shared among several users, can provide television, internet and voice connections.
So What Brings You Here To Costa Rica?
Jason Borner, like so many current foreign residents, initially came on vacation, with his parents. That was back in 1987. He had been studying at university in Montreal and doing piecework as a summer job.
“I wasn’t really accomplishing anything at university, so decided to check something else out.” That something else has become an original and growing business idea that aims to expand its sales market to all of Latin America.
Borner obviously did a fine job at promoting life in Costa Rica because his parents decided to move down some two years after he settled here.
As he readily admits, Borner now has “the freedom to make all the right and wrong decisions.” Starting Poderco provided “the chance to be able to live here and I am not the best employee!” This is a key element with so many foreign residents who have settled in Costa Rica and found a niche to apply their energy and talents.
However, dedication is required, “Be very careful who you get involved with and don’t think it is a cakewalk,” warns Borner. “Life is very much the same as anywhere else in the world, you still have to work hard and you still have to overcome many obstaclesà..but on the good days you can enjoy the beauty of the country, and that is something which you need to make an effort to appreciate every day.”
And just how does Borner appreciate the good days? “Huge waves, or a bike ride, or a hike to a waterfall.”
You can visit Jason’s new website PoderCo.com here.
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Written by Vicky Longland – With an honours degree in English from a Welsh university, South America seemed an obvious place to head! During thirty years in Latin America, V.L. has worked as language teacher, Spanish-English translator and as travel writer for local and international publications.
Andrew Makarik
to@welovecostarica.comAndrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.
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