Uruguay to speed up PV installations in 2016

Uruguay's state-owned power company Administracion Nacional de Usinas y Trasmisiones Electricas (UTE) wants to include 167 MW of photovoltaic (PV) technology into the national system next year versus 58 MW the present year.

Additionally, the country plans to have new 274 MW of wind energy and thus increase the share of wind to 25% of the produced electricity by the end of 2016. In 2015, the system received 490 MW of wind capacity, while wind energy came to represent 17% of total output, compared to 6% in 2014.

On Tuesday, UTE presented its annual results with a profit of nearly USD 210 million (EUR 191.6m) for 2015. The company will further seek to reduce the cost of electricity, according to chairman Gonzalo Casaravilla, who mentioned that the increase in average electricity tariffs since 2010 has remained below the inflation.

Regarding Uruguay's electricity exports to Brazil and Argentina, the company expects an additional USD 30 million in 2016 compared to previous years.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.912)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!