Uruguay 'ideal for renewable investment'

(ANSA) - Milan, June 17 - Uruguay is taking advantage of Expo Milano 2015 to present itself to the world as an ideal country in which to invest in the energy field. In its pavilion at the universal exposition it organised a videoconference that put into contact the Uruguayan Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, together with Ute, the state-run firm that supplies electric energy, and potential investors who were guests at the pavilion.
    From Montevideo, among others, they were linked up with the interim minister of Industry Energy and Mining, Guillermo Moncecchi.
    For years Uruguay has making its energy policies strongly focused on renewable energy, and it has become a nation at the cutting edge when it comes to the 'green economy'.
    Currently it is the south American country with the highest percentage of renewable energy - in 2014 some 95% of its energy needs were met with renewable energy.
    According to official forecasts, Uruguay in 2016 will become the country with the highest percentage of wind energy in the world (producing 33% of total electrical energy needs next year), overtaking Denmark, Spain and Germany.
    "We guarantee a solid infrastructure in expansion and well-prepared human resources," said Moncecchi.
    Walter Sosa, Director of the Ute consulting sector added that: "We have economic and juridical security and clear rules for people wanting to invest".
    "This is thanks to a national energy plan approved in 2008 and in force up to 2030, agreed on by all political parties in parliament".
    Enel is one of the firms that, in 2013, chose to wager on Uruguay, with its 'Enel green power' project.
    "We are investing more than $98 million," said Enel Green Power Development Manager Jorge Manuel Cernadas, "we have created more than 600 jobs, and we are saving 62 million tonnes of CO2".