Uruguay: Enel Green Power brings online its first power plant in Uruguay

Enel Green Power (EGP) has completed and connected to the grid Melowind wind farm, its first ever power plant in Uruguay. The 50 MW facility is located in the Cerro Largo area, about 320 kilometres from capital city Montevideo.

“We are very pleased to announce that we have begun generating kilowatt-hours in Uruguay”, said Enel Green Power CEO Francesco Venturini. “Uruguay fits perfectly with our growth strategy, as it is a country that is experiencing both economic and population growth, benefits from abundant energy resources and has a steady regulatory framework. The country aims to diversify its generation mix and expand the use of local energy resources between now and 2030, and our clean power will contribute to the reaching of this goal.”

Enel Green Power invested approximately 98 million US dollars in the construction of Melowind. The plant is able to generate more than 200 GWh of electricity a year – equal to the consumption needs of about 74,000 local households – while avoiding the annual emission of more than 62,000 tonnes of CO2. Melowind’s 47% load factor is equivalent to more than 4,100 hours of generation a year.

The electricity produced by Melowind will be sold to the state-owned power company UTE (Administración Nacional de Usinas y Trasmisiones Eléctricas), which manages the transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in Uruguay, under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) that was signed prior to construction of the plant.

Uruguay has an installed capacity of approximately 3.7 GW, with about 66% of output being generated from renewable resources.