A wind farm project near by the Uruguayan village of Peralta saves carbon emissions by replacing fossil fuel-based electricity with clean renewable energy. Comprising 25 turbines with a total capacity of 50 MW, the wind park generates an average of 120,000 MWh annually - which corresponds to the demand of 50,000 Uruguayan households. The project contributes to further increasing the share of renewables in the country's national grid. In 2015 this share already exceeded 94%, with 17% coming from wind energy. Carbon finance thus supports Uruguay's ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030. The project has also brought modern wind power technology and the related knowledge to the region. As a positive example it promotes increasing investments in renewable energies.
To prevent negative environmental impacts in the surrounding area, avian and bat monitorings are performed quarterly by qualified staff. The wind farm has been recognized as a pioneer project by Harvard University’s Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure.
How wind energy contributes to climate actionAs the name suggests, wind turbines use the power of the wind to generate energy. During this process, a generator located inside the wind turbine converts kinetic energy into electrical energy. As energy is still mainly generated from fossil fuels in many areas around the world, clean wind energy can replace some of this fossil, high-emission energy and verifiably save CO2 emissions.
In most cases, the sustainably generated electricity from the wind power projects is fed into a regional power grid, which diversifies the power supply and improves energy security in regions that are frequently affected by power shortages and outages. A project often creates increased job opportunities for the local population and the area can be used for additional activities, such as agriculture. Wind power projects make an important contribution to a clean energy supply worldwide and contribute to sustainable development with respect to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Wind energy projects in the ClimatePartner portfolio are registered with international standards.
