Energy in Uruguay describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Uruguay. As part of climate mitigation measures and an energy transformation, Uruguay has converted over 98% of its electrical grid to sustainable energy sources (primarily solar, wind, and hydro).[1] Fossil fuels are primarily imported into Uruguay for transportation, industrial uses and applications like domestic cooking. Four hydroelectric dams provide much of the country''s energy supply.
Historically, energy has been a stronghold of state-owned companies, such as UTE and ANCAP. The National Directorate of Energy (Spanish: Dirección Nacional de Energía) is the main governmental body in charge of energy policies.[2]
The Global Economic Crisis of 2008 made many of the materials to produce renewable energy cheaper, therefore Uruguay decided it would be the best time to develop their clean energy sector, heavily investing in 2011 and 2012. This has helped increase the country''s output immediately.[3] These projects are all developed by the Uruguayan Energy Policies of 2005-2030.[4]
Uruguay''s renewable energies provide over 94.5% of the country''s electricity and 55% of the country''s total energy mix.[5]
The electricity sector of Uruguay has traditionally been based on domestic hydropower along with thermal power plants, and reliant on imports from Argentina and Brazil at times of peak demand. Over the last 10 years, investments in renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar power allowed the country to cover in early 2016 94.5% of its electricity needs with renewable energy sources.[6]
Hydropower provides a large percentage of installed production capacity in Uruguay, almost all of it produced by four hydroelectric facilities, three on the Rio Negro and one, the Salto Grande dam shared with Argentina, on the Uruguay River. The production from these hydropower sources is dependent on seasonal rainfall patterns, but under normal hydrological conditions, can supply off-peak domestic demand.
Thermal power from petroleum fired power plants, activated during peak demand, used to provide the remaining installed production capacity. Generation from fossil fuel decreased substantially in recent years, with renewables accounting for 94.5% of electricity generation in 2015.[7]Thermal power from biomass also provides additional power generation capacity.
The use of nuclear energy in Uruguay is prohibited by law 16.832 of 1997.[10] Despite this, the country has several institutions that regulate its use, such as the Center for Nuclear Research (Centro de Investigaciones Nucleares) or the National Regulation Authority on Radiological Protection (Autoridad Reguladora Nacional en Radioprotección).
The electricity sector of Uruguay has traditionally been based on domestic hydropower along with thermal power plants, and reliant on imports from Argentina and Brazil at times of peak demand. Over the last 10 years, investments in renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar power allowed the country to cover in early 2016 94.5% of its electricity needs with renewable energy sources.[16]
Thermal power from petroleum fired power plants, activated during peak demand, used to provide the remaining installed production capacity. Generation from fossil fuel decreased substantially in recent years, with renewables accounting for 94.5% of electricity generation in 2015.[17]Thermal power from biomass also provides additional power generation capacity.
Fossil fuels are largely imported into Uruguay for transportation and industrial uses. The high import costs, and the rapid transition to renewables on the electricity grid has increasingly made fossil fuels less important.
The electricity sector of Uruguay has traditionally been based on domestic hydropower along with thermal power plants, and reliant on imports from Argentina and Brazil at times of peak demand. Over the last 10 years, investments in renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar power allowed the country to cover in early 2016 94.5% of its electricity needs with renewable energy sources.[5]
Thermal power from petroleum fired power plants, activated during peak demand, used to provide the remaining installed production capacity. Generation from fossil fuel decreased substantially in recent years, with renewables accounting for 94.5% of electricity generation in 2015.[6]Thermal power from biomass also provides additional power generation capacity.
Installed electricity capacity in Uruguay was around 2,500 MW (megawatts) in 2009 and around 2,900 MW in 2013. Of the installed capacity, about 63% is hydro, accounting for 1,538 MW which includes half of the capacity of the Argentina-Uruguay bi-national Salto Grande. The rest of the production capacity is mostly thermal and a small share of wind and biomass.[9]
The power system exhibits characteristics and issues of hydro-based generation. The apparently wide reserve margin conceals the vulnerability to hydrology. In dry years it is necessary to import over 25% of the demand from Argentinian and Brazilian markets.[10]
About 56% of generation capacity is owned and operated by UTE, the national utility. The remaining capacity corresponds to the Salto Grande hydroelectric plant (945 MW), to co-generation or to small private investments in renewable sources. The table below shows the plants that are operated and owned by UTE as of 2008:[11]
In the years leading up to 2009, the Uruguayan electricity system has faced difficulties to supply the increasing demand from its domestic market. In years of low rainfall, there is a high dependency on imports from Brazil and Argentina. Exports have historically been negligible. In particular, no electricity has been exported in 2009.The table below shows the evolution of imported electricity since 1999:[9]
(1) January–June 2009These energy exchanges happen through two existing interconnections, a 500kv line with Argentina, through Salto Grande, and a 70kv line with Brazil, through Garabi.[13]
Total electricity consumption in 2008 was 7,114 GWh, which corresponds to a per capita consumption of 2,729 kWh.[11] Share of consumption by sector was as follows:[13]
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