User:RosasLopez8T/sandbox

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Wiki contribution: Sierra De Cardos, Uruguay

General Project Information: Located 20KM from the town of San Carlos the Sierra De Cardos pilot wind project is found. The project was created with the intention of replicating it in neighboring communities and countries. The Sierra De Cardos pilot project generates 33GWH of wind power per year [1]. The plant contains 5 turbines, each 67m in height, that produce 2MW of energy each, meaning the whole plant is comprised of 10 MW. The technology used by the plant was created by the UTE [2] and is being used to meet help the country establish sustainable energy practices, which were agreed upon during the Kyoto Protocol [3].

Benefits to community: Due to the placement of wind turbine, routes had to be expanded and as a result, roads and mobility around the town improved the existing infrastructure by expanding the town's current road by 7km. This expansion also improved access to Route 39, which connects Aiguá to Punta del Este on the coast. Road construction and improvement was not considered a focus for UTE. 39% of the workforce during the installation process came from the project’s immediate area and after World Bank inspectors visited the plant they reported that there was only 1 security guard on duty [1].

Social Issues with project: In order for the project to be constructed 27 hectares of land had to be cleared and compensated for. In order to do this the Society for Rural and Industrial Development of Maldonado scheduled a meeting between town residents and officials for February 20, 2008. Of the interested pool, 18 residents and 3 Society officials were in attendance. Concluding the meeting, the organization hired legal advisors to reach out to landowners to explain and assess their compensations. In the end, project reports indicated that landowners and residents were actually compensated for access to their land [1].

Environmental benefits associated with the plant: The plant is considered low risk for both bats and birds, as only 4 of 21 bat species in Uruguay are expected to be flying near the plant. Additionally, the plant is not located near a wetland or near large bird concentrations. As agreed upon by the UTE and World Bank in 2009, the key environmental mitigation of the project was to monitor mortality of bats and birds species of the area. The agreement included 3 years of post-construction monitoring that provided information on how to better wind farms or local bat and bird species [1].

The Sierra De Cardos project has been credited as a successful example of an expropriation project in Uruguay [1].