Brazil which gets about 80% of its energy from hydroelectricity is considering a record investment of 4.1 billion Real (2.5 billion USD) for wind farms this year to diversify its power supply.
Google Inc. said announced this week that together with two Japanese partners they will pay General Electric Co. about 500 million US dollars for a majority equity stake in the world's largest wind farm, under construction in Oregon.
Uruguay continues to expand its alternative green energy capacity and the latest contract award will have 25 wind turbines which must be operational within a maximum period of three years. The wind power project of 50 MW will supply renewable energy to a population of 50,000 people.
Installed wind farm capacity in Latin America grew by 50% during 2010, and more than 2,000 MW of wind power are now operating across the region, according to the Global Wind Energy Council, GWEC.
Uruguay intends to develop as many wind farms as its electricity grid can support, effectively diversifying its energy supply beyond hydropower and fossil fuels. At present, the country is in the process of installing 500MW of wind power projects.
A Spanish firm and two Argentine ones have been awarded tenders to build wind farms. Spanish Teyma and the Argentine Impsa and Fingano will invest around U$ 300 million in the project.
Announcing the preliminary results of a call for tenders to supply wind energy, UTE, Uruguay's state power company, announced that 21 companies and consortia had presented valid offers last week.
Denmark’s Vesta Wind Systems has received an order from Argentina for 43 V90-1.8 MW wind turbines (totalling 77 MW) to be mounted in the Rawson I wind farm and Rawson II wind farm both located in the outskirts of Rawson, Chubut province, Argentine Patagonia.
Plans to build massive wind farms off the coast of Britain are in doubt due to an obscure piece of legislation that means oil companies can force turbines to be moved if fossil fuels are discovered in the area, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.
The world's largest wind turbine company, Denmark’s Vestas, last week announced it will be investing in the Talinay Oriente wind farm project in northern Chile, a project it says will become Latin America's largest wind farm.