Uruguay sells outdoor power

How does Uruguay get its electricity?

To this day, Uruguay continues to rely heavily on its dams, including the imposing Salto Grande on the Río Uruguay, whose power is shared with Argentina, and several on the Río Negro. For decades, electricity from those dams and from generators running on gas and oil imported largely from Argentina and Brazil met Uruguayans’ energy needs.

Why is Uruguay transforming its energy system?

The primary driver of Uruguay’s energy transformation was wind power, which currently makes up a stunning 38 percent of the country’s energy mix. At present, Uruguay’s fossil fuel plants provide just 2 percent of the nation’s energy and are only rarely activated in the infrequent case that renewable power production falls short of demand.

How much green energy does Uruguay use?

In 2016, even before several more renewables projects went online, it hit 94.5 percent green energy. In 2019, according to an analysis by the Uruguayan company SEG Engineering, the country ran on 98 percent renewable energy.

What is the energy policy of Uruguay?

1. Policy Uruguay has a comprehensive, long-term energy plan - the National Energy Policy 2005-2030 - with the overall objective to diversify the energy mix, reduce dependency from fossil fuels, improve energy efficiency, and increase the use of endogenous resources, mostly renewables.

How does Uruguay generate 97 percent of its electricity from renewable sources?

Going for gales: Wind turbine farms are one of the ways Uruguay managed to generate 97 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. (Courtesy of Natasha Hakimi Zapata)

Does Uruguay have wind power?

Uruguay began exporting excess wind power to Argentina in 2016. As a result, wind development exceeded the government’s initial expectations, with wind energy generation near 5,000 gigawatt hours and generating about 40% of the country’s electricity.