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The Salto Grande Hydroelectric Plant with 1800 MW is the largest power station in Uruguay. Wind farm in Valentines. In the years leading up to 2009, the Uruguayan electricity system faced difficulties to supply the increasing demand from its domestic market.
Maximum demand on the order of 1,500 MW (historic peak demand, 1,668 MW happened in July 2009 ) is met with a generation system of about 2,200 MW capacity. This apparently wide installed reserve margin conceals a high vulnerability to hydrology. Access to electricity in Uruguay is very high, above 98.7%.
This report on bringing 5G to power explores how the shift to renewables creates opportunities and challenges through connected power distribution grids.
Of the installed capacity, about 29% is hydropower, accounting for 1,538 MW which includes half of the capacity of the Argentina-Uruguay bi-national Salto Grande, a similar share corresponds to wind farms while the rest is composed mainly of biomass, photovoltaic solar and thermal. The table below shows the installed capacity as of 2024: