Irene Cañas Díaz is a civil engineer and graduate of the University of Costa Rica, with 28 years of experience in the energy sector. Throughout her career, Cañas has dedicated herself to promoting initiatives for sustainable, low-emission electricity generation.
Cañas began her professional career at the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE with its initials in Spanish) in the hydropower project budgeting area. Later, she became part of the electrical planning team, where she contributed to feasibility studies for hydropower plants and other renewable energy sources.
Cañas served as the coordinator for Costa Rica and Panama of the regional 4E Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency project by GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation), where she promoted capacity development in the public and private sectors on energy-related issues.
She held the position of Vice Minister of Environmental Management and Energy at the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, where she was responsible for issuing environmental policies on environmental protection, sustainable management and use of natural resources, and promoting the use of renewable energy sources.
Cañas was also the Executive President of Grupo ICE, Costa Rica’s public electricity and telecommunications company. She led the transformation process of the group, driving a cultural metamorphosis to help the organization quickly adapt to the challenges facing the energy and telecommunications sectors.
Cañas is currently a partner at the consulting firm Boreal Internacional.