Uruguay seeks community buy-in to wind development

Uruguay's energy authorities have launched a campaign to educate local communities close to the sites where wind farms will be built on the role wind power will play in the country's energy future, according to a report by NoticiasFinancieras.
 
Some of the communities involved in the campaign are based in Chuchilla de Peralta in the district of Tacuarembo.
 
Wind power development in the country is still a relatively nascent sector. However, earlier this year, the government announced its intention to develop this sector in an effort to diversify energy supplies beyond fossil fuel and hydropower.
 
The country has 500 MW of wind projects in the pipeline. According to Ramon Mendez, director of Energy at the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, Uruguay has the potential to generate 25-28 per cent of its power from wind and biomass in 2015.