The El Libertador and Palmatir wind farms will be developed to help the country reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and hydroelectricity. It will also help in reducing carbon emissions by 302,000mt a year.
Hydropower plants form 60% of Uruguay’s 2.578MW power generation capacity, while fossil fuels form 33%. The remaining comes from biomass and wind energy.
Brazilian renewable energy WPE will develop the El Libertador wind farm located in the department of Lavalleja. The farm, which will have 44 Vensys IMPSA wind turbine, will avail of a loan of $66m.
The Palmatir wind farm, located in the department of Tacuarembó, will be developed by Abengoa and will receive $41.7m. The farm will be installed with 25 Gamesa wind turbines.
The two wind farms will together have a capacity of 115MW.
The two projects are being financed as part of a program launched by the state-owned electricity company UTE. The program envisages the participation of private players in the country’s renewable energy sector.
Inter-American Development Bank Infrastructure Division at the Structured and Corporate Finance Department chief Jean-Marc Aboussouan said, "The long-term financing provided by the IDB will allow Uruguay to take advantage of the global advances in the wind energy sector as well as improvements in technology and cost reductions that have made wind power a competitive energy source."
