Decree 354 on the Promotion of Renewable Energies

In 2010 the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry approved the Decree 354 on the Promotion of Renewable Energies meant to dramatically increase the share of electricity generation from renewable sources in Uruguay.

The government also officialised its commitment in meeting 15% of the national electricity demand from renewable sources by 2015, from 6% in 2010.

The Decree further settles a contractual system between the Administracion Nacional de Usinas y Transmisiones Electricas (UTE) and power producers from renewable sources, by which the UTE will purchase at a fixed tariff the electricity surplus from generators, and feed it into the grid.

The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) will last over a 20 years period and project developers will have to cope with a set of local content requirements. For instance, 40% of wind plans products and human capital must be national.

The plan, running until 2015 will dedicate about USD 5.5 million to renewable energy projects from biofuels, biomass, solar and wind sources.

Want to know more about this policy ? Learn more