LatinNews Daily - 21 June 2024

*Uruguay’s ministry of industry, energy, and mining (Miem) has awarded 70 energy efficiency certificates (CEE) to beneficiaries of a 2023 grant for implementing non-standardised energy efficiency measures. The CEEs, economic awards granted to institutions that have successfully implemented energy efficiency measures, amounted to UR$61.2m (US$1.5m) distributed amongst 186 beneficiaries. Miem’s director of energy, Christian Nieves, stated that the award relates to 208 measures implemented in 11 departments of the country, with an investment of more than UR$1.4m that resulted in savings of UR$318m. Nieves explained that the annual energy savings from the programme were equivalent to the electricity consumption of 41,600 Uruguayan households. “Uruguay is doing very well compared to the world in terms of energy efficiency,” said Nieves, stating that the country is in the second energy transition, for which efficiency is fundamental. In the World Economic Forum’s 2024 energy transition index, a global classification of the effectiveness of countries’ energy transition, Uruguay ranked 33^rd out of 120 countries, down ten places from the 2023 index.