{"id":145,"date":"2015-08-23T21:14:35","date_gmt":"2015-08-23T21:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ventus.com.uy\/blog\/?p=145"},"modified":"2015-12-29T20:21:07","modified_gmt":"2015-12-29T20:21:07","slug":"luchar-junto-a-los-molinos-de-viento","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ventus.global\/blog\/luchar-junto-a-los-molinos-de-viento\/","title":{"rendered":"LUCHAR JUNTO A LOS MOLINOS DE VIENTO"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Seis<\/a><\/p>\n

[tp lang=\u00bbes\u00bb not_in=\u00bben\u00bb]Entrevista de la revista Seisgrados al Ing. Francis Raquet, Socio y Director Comercial de Ventus.<\/p>\n

A los 32 an\u0303os, es uno de los tres socios de Ventus, empresa pionera en energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica en Uruguay. En charla con Seisgrados, este ingeniero industrial que eligio\u0301 la carrera por descarte cuenta co\u0301mo se metio\u0301 en el mundo de las energi\u0301as renovables y encontro\u0301 un nicho innovador que, adema\u0301s de su arista ecolo\u0301gica, puede ser un gran negocio<\/p>\n

a mano se desliza ra\u0301pidamente sobre una hoja de papel. \u201cMe resulta ma\u0301s fa\u0301cil explica\u0301rtelo con gra\u0301ficas\u201d, justifica Francis Raquet sentado en su escritorio mientras garabatea algunas li\u0301neas. Minutos despue\u0301s, tambie\u0301n una aplicacio\u0301n del celular o la pantalla de la computadora le resul- tara\u0301n u\u0301tiles para ilustrar conceptos. Son gajes de la profesio\u0301n para este ingeniero industrial que se aboca a hablar de su vida personal, del surgimiento de la empresa Ventus y de la energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica en Uruguay; tres historias que son una al mismo tiempo.
\nLa conversacio\u0301n tiene lugar en las oficinas de Ventus, en el de\u0301cimo piso de un edificio en Parque Rodo\u0301, un espacio con inmejorable vista a la rambla montevideana donde se amontonan escritorios y empleados. El rinco\u0301n de Raquet tiene vida propia: anotaciones por doquier, papeles pegados en las paredes,bocetos sobre instalaciones en funciona- miento y proyectos en construccio\u0301n. En medio de ese caos con orden se destacan el cuadro de un molino de viento y una obra arti\u0301stica familiar: las huellas de unas manos pequen\u0303as dedicadas al \u201cmejor papa\u0301 del mundo\u201d. Es que el ingeniero, casado con Stephanie Delay, tiene dos hijas y aguarda a su tercer heredero, ya en camino.
\nPero no solo la familia esta\u0301 en expansio\u0301n. La pared guarda lugar para ma\u0301s obras y ma\u0301s proyectos. En eso esta\u0301 Ventus luego de convertirse en la empresa privada pionera en energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica en Uruguay y de tener hoy, con menos de un lustro de vida, cuatro parques eo\u0301licos operativos y otros ocho en construccio\u0301n, totalizando para 2016 negocios por casi 200 millones de do\u0301lares.
\nEl mundo de las energi\u0301as renovables es relativamente nuevo en el pai\u0301s y tambie\u0301n lo es para el propio Raquet, que en su e\u0301poca de estudiante ni siquiera estaba seguro de cursar ingenieri\u0301a. Desoyendo el consejo recibido por un psico\u0301logo especialista en orientacio\u0301n vocacional, eligio\u0301 la carrera por descarte y pragma- tismo. \u201cSoy mali\u0301simo para las matema\u0301ticas, pero en el 2000 la carrera de ingenieri\u0301a teni\u0301a mucha salida laboral y abri\u0301a puertas\u201d, confiesa sin temor, al tiempo que asegura que luego se terminari\u0301a enamorando de su profesio\u0301n.
\nMientras estudiaba en la Universidad de Montevideo, comenzo\u0301 a trabajar de cadete en Engraw, la compan\u0303i\u0301a que su familia posee desde hace ma\u0301s de siete de\u0301cadas. De hecho, el ingeniero hace gala de sus conocimientos en la industria textil, que pra\u0301cticamente le corren por las venas, aunque aclara que actualmente esta\u0301 \u201coxidado\u201d en el a\u0301rea. Lo cierto es que con una fa\u0301brica en Fray Marcos (Florida) y oficinas en la capital, esta empresa se ubica como la segunda lanera del pai\u0301s, al exportar siete millones de kilos de top anuales. Avanzado en la carrera, paso\u0301 a trabajar en mantenimiento, bajo las o\u0301rdenes del ingeniero de planta. Fue entonces que noto\u0301 el alti\u0301simo costo que teni\u0301a el consumo de energi\u0301a ele\u0301ctrica para la empresa \u2014de 2002 a 2012 habi\u0301a subido 300% en do\u0301lares\u2014 y se embarco\u0301 en analizar co\u0301mo bajarlo.<\/p>\n

UNA LOCURA POSIBLE<\/strong>
\nSe contacto\u0301 asi\u0301 con Juan Pablo Saltre y Miguel Causa, excompa- n\u0303ero de facultad y exprofesor respectivamente, quienes habi\u0301an trabajado juntos en la instalacio\u0301n de Kentilux, el primer parque eo\u0301lico privado de una licitacio\u0301n de UTE, y quienes a partir de esa experiencia habi\u0301an fundado un emprendimiento propio: Ventus.
\nCorri\u0301a el 2010 y la idea de Raquet sona- ba a locura; instalar un aerogenerador (molino) en la fa\u0301brica para tratar de bajar el consumo era algo que no teni\u0301a antecedentes. Pero el primoge\u0301nito de la familia \u2014son ocho hermanos, incluyendo una \u201chermana postiza\u201d\u2014 no tuvo problemas en convencer a todos de que su iniciativa teni\u0301a potencial. \u201cLa ignorancia y la inocencia nos jugaron a favor, porque todo el mundo nos deci\u0301a que esta\u0301bamos locos, que era inviable, que no era econo\u0301micamente rentable\u201d, recuerda. Y los nu\u0301meros sustentaban ese pesimismo: instalar un molino requiere una inversio\u0301n cercana a los 4 millones de do\u0301lares. Casi la mitad de ese costo corresponde solo a la com- pra del aerogenerador; el resto incluye traslado, montaje, obras viales, civiles y ele\u0301ctricas. Para peor, \u201csi el tema eo\u0301lico au\u0301n esta\u0301 verde en Uruguay, estaba muchi\u0301simo ma\u0301s verde en esa e\u0301poca\u201d, recuerda el ingeniero.
\nSin embargo, la locura se hizo realidad y ese molino se convirtio\u0301 en el primero instalado en una fa\u0301brica en Latinoame\u0301rica. Engraw fue adema\u0301s miembro pionero de la certificacio\u0301n WindMade, que se otorga a empresas que utilizan energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica. De hecho, la satis- faccio\u0301n fue tal que un an\u0303o despue\u0301s la compan\u0303i\u0301a decidio\u0301 instalar un segundo molino en la planta.
\n\u00bfCo\u0301mo termino\u0301 siendo econo\u0301micamente viable semejante inversio\u0301n para una empresa de 120 empleados? Para empezar, Engraw pagaba entre 600 y 700 mil do\u0301lares al an\u0303o de energi\u0301a ele\u0301ctrica y paso\u0301 a pagar menos de la mitad. Hoy el 60% de la energi\u0301a utilizada en la fa\u0301brica proviene del aerogenerador. \u201cAhi\u0301 ya hubo una reduccio\u0301n muy importante. Y lo otro, que fue lo que ma\u0301s peso\u0301, es la ley de promocio\u0301n de inversiones que exonera impuestos a iniciativas de este tipo y funciona muy bien. Eso ayudo\u0301 muchi\u0301simo a tomar la decisio\u0301n. Y fue la razo\u0301n por la que luego recibiri\u0301amos muchos ma\u0301s proyectos\u201d. Todo esto llevo\u0301 a que la inversio\u0301n se pagara sola a lo largo de cuatro a cinco an\u0303os.
\nPara cuando Engraw instalo\u0301 el segundo molino, Raquet estaba del otro lado de la mesa. \u201cHabi\u0301a pasado tan bien y me habi\u0301a parecido tan interesante la experiencia que me uni\u0301 a Ventus\u201d, cuenta quien se convirtio\u0301 en el tercer socio del emprendimiento.
\nenergi\u0301a Limpia y barata
\nCuando brinda datos, con tono casi dida\u0301ctico, el empresario relaja el semblante. Siempre amable, se lo intuye introvertido. Es escueto para hablar de su vida personal y se lo nota decididamente ma\u0301s a gusto si la conversacio\u0301n gira sobre los proyectos de Ventus, lo que esta\u0301n haciendo y en particular lo que desean hacer. Pero, antes de ello, continu\u0301a con la breve retrospectiva.
\nLuego de la experiencia de Engraw, ya con Raquet como flamante parte del equipo, la novel empresa descubrio\u0301 que era posible expandir lo hecho como modelo de negocio y replico\u0301 la iniciativa con otra fa\u0301brica. La acumulacio\u0301n de e\u0301xitos detono\u0301 el siguiente proyecto: Ventus decidio\u0301 tener un molino propio, no para autoconsumo, sino para vender energi\u0301a al mercado. Ese fue el puntapie\u0301 del parque eo\u0301lico Libertad, que hoy tiene cuatro aerogeneradores.
\nEn este punto, vale la pena aclarar que la energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica tiene dos ventajas fundamentales: es amigable con el medioambiente y es barata.
\nPara ilustrarlo, Raquet vuelve a los recursos gra\u0301ficos: ingresa al sitio web de la ADME, el ente que regula el mercado ele\u0301ctrico en Uruguay, y sen\u0303ala la pantalla de la computadora. \u201cLa ADME tiene todos los generadores a su disposicio\u0301n para satisfacer la demanda de todo el pai\u0301s. Los va activando segu\u0301n la necesidad, con una regla: desde el ma\u0301s barato hasta el ma\u0301s caro. La energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica es la ma\u0301s barata y siempre esta\u0301 prendida. Luego esta\u0301n la represa de Salto Grande; las centrales Palmar, Baygorria y Terra; Motores, que utiliza gasoil, o Punta del Tigre, que funciona a gas, entre otros. El u\u0301ltimo generador activado es el que marca el llamado \u2018precio spot\u2019. Entonces, la energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica es espectacular, porque, si no estuviera, yo deberi\u0301a tener a Punta del Tigre prendido todo el tiempo, y si tengo una seca importante, tendri\u0301a que importar energi\u0301a de Argentina o Brasil, que me van a vender al doble de precio\u201d.
\nenergi\u0301a en construccio\u0301n
\nEl ingeniero admite que, mientras el 2014 fue \u201cespectacular\u201d, el panorama cambio\u0301 en el correr de este an\u0303o. La desaceleracio\u0301n de la economi\u0301a, la baja en el precio del petro\u0301leo, la sequi\u0301a y el cam- bio de gobierno han llevado a que las empresas se muestren ma\u0301s cautelosas a la hora de invertir. Eso, sumado a que el pai\u0301s \u201cya tiene su cupo de energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica\u201d casi completo, hacen que Ventus empiece a mirar fuera de fronteras. \u201cSomos una empresa joven y queremos aprovechar todo el conocimiento adquirido trabajando para afuera. Nos especiali- zamos en desarrollar, construir y operar parques eo\u0301licos en Uruguay, donde el mercado se redujo mucho\u201d, dice Raquet.
\nPeru\u0301, Bolivia, Argentina y Panama\u0301 son los des- tinos posibles para nuevos proyectos. Ventus se ha presentado a licitaciones en los dos primeros y tiene en vista a Argentina, donde asegura que \u201cla demanda es impresionante\u201d, pero las condi- ciones econo\u0301mico-poli\u0301ticas actuales obstaculizan nuevas inversiones. \u201cEso va a cambiar y queremos estar preparados para cuando pase\u201d, apunta. En cuanto a Panama\u0301, los socios participaron de una feria eo\u0301lica en julio y tienen proyectos en vista. \u201cQueremos hacer lo mismo que en Uruguay: para desarrollar el parque Ventus I, de 10 MW, fuimos a los corredores de Bolsa y juntamos 20 millones de do\u0301lares con inversores uruguayos de pequen\u0303o y gran porte. Eso mismo queremos hacer en Panama\u0301, con inversores panamen\u0303os y uruguayos\u201d.
\nEn todos estos pai\u0301ses ya hay jugadores importan- tes en energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica, pero Raquet asegura que, aunque su empresa es \u201cmicrosco\u0301pica\u201d al lado de los ma\u0301s grandes en esta industria, cuentan con la confianza para competir de igual a igual. \u201cNuestro intere\u0301s en esos mercados no es hacer una ganancia diferencial, sino mantenernos en este negocio, generar oportunidades, entonces igual lo hacemos al costo. Estamos confiados en que puedan surgir oportunidades en estos lugares\u201d.<\/p>\n

La arista medioambiental tambie\u0301n seduce a la hora de vender la energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica como producto. \u201cLa gente no es ajena a los feno\u0301- menos clima\u0301ticos que vienen pasando en los u\u0301ltimos an\u0303os, hay una crisis de agua tremenda en los u\u0301ltimos seis meses, el an\u0303o pasado llovio\u0301 como no llovi\u0301a en de\u0301cadas… Es vox populi que hay cambio clima\u0301tico y Uruguay es un pai\u0301s renovable\u201d, dice Raquet, aunque confiesa que, al momento de decidirse a invertir en un molino, para una empresa pesa ma\u0301s el factor econo\u0301mico que la conciencia ecolo\u0301gica.<\/p>\n

UN UNIVERSO FINITO<\/strong>
\nMa\u0301s alla\u0301 de los indiscutibles beneficios de la energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica, vale resaltar que en ningu\u0301n caso se puede depender 100% de esta fuente. La variabilidad del viento hace que siempre haya que estar conec- tado a la red de UTE. El silogismo es simple: si no hay viento, el aspa no se mueve; si el aspa no se mueve, no se produce energi\u0301a. De depender solo del molino, la luz se pasari\u0301a titilando. \u201cLa base siempre tiene que ser firme; en una represa tira\u0301s agua y eso gene- ra 50 MW estables. En la eo\u0301lica, la potencia sube y baja segu\u0301n el viento\u201d. Adema\u0301s, la energi\u0301a generada no se puede almacenar. Por eso mismo, la cantidad de parques eo\u0301licos necesarios es limitada. Actualmente, el pai\u0301s del mundo con mayor porcentaje de energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica en su oferta energe\u0301tica es Dinamarca. Se estima que para 2016<\/p>\n

Uruguay lo igualara\u0301, con entre 25% y 30%. Si la energi\u0301a proveniente del viento supera el 30%, se complicari\u0301a el manejo de las redes, explica Raquet. \u201cLa energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica o solar tiene que ser marginal para que la base sea estable. Aca\u0301 crecio\u0301 mucho en los u\u0301ltimos tres an\u0303os: el pai\u0301s paso\u0301 de tener 50 MW a tener 500 MW, y el an\u0303o que viene va a superar los 1.000. Pusimos tanta energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica que la ADME no sabe co\u0301mo lo va a manejar; se esta\u0301n capacitando para eso\u201d. Ventus tiene hoy cuatro parques operativos, por un total de 30,5 MW, que esta\u0301n ahora mismo entregando energi\u0301a a la red. Adema\u0301s posee otros ocho parques en construccio\u0301n, por 65 MW; tres comenzara\u0301n a operar este an\u0303o y los otros cinco en 2016. A excepcio\u0301n de un aerogenerador para autoconsumo de un frigo- ri\u0301fico, todos obedecen a inversiones de empresas nacionales de distintos rubros \u2014vestimenta, comida, transporte, etce\u0301tera\u2014 que adquirieron un molino cada uno para vender la energi\u0301a producida. \u201cApuntamos a empresas que podi\u0301an invertir los cuatro millones de do\u0301lares necesarios y diversificaron su giro. Muchos esta\u0301n con el tema ambiental presente y les intereso\u0301 la idea\u201d, cuenta Raquet. Con esa compra, cada empresa obtiene adema\u0301s los beneficios tributarios estipulados en la ley de promocio\u0301n de inversiones. Para 2016, Uruguay tendra\u0301 ma\u0301s 1.000 MW de potencia provenientes de la energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica; 100 MW sera\u0301n de parques construidos y operados por Ventus. La energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica ya no es el futuro sino el presente y, Raquet lo sabe, llego\u0301 para quedarse.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Descargar original en PDF<\/a><\/p>\n

[\/tp]<\/p>\n

[tp lang=\u00bben\u00bb not_in=\u00bbes\u00bb]
\nInterview on Seisgrados magazine to Eng. Frances Raquet, Partner and Commercial Director of Ventus.<\/p>\n

\nAt 32 years old, he is one of the three partners of Ventus, pioneer company on wind power in Uruguay. Chatting with Seisgrados, this industrial engineer who chose his major by process of elimination, tells us how he got into the world of renewable energy and found an innovation gap which, apart from having an ecological aspect can be a good business.<\/p>\n

A sheet of paper is quickly slid by hand. \u2018It’s easier for me to describe it with graphs\u2019, justifies Francis Raquet, sitting at his desk while he scribbles some lines. Minutes later, an application either on his cell or the computer screen seem useful to illustrate some concepts. It’s all part and parcel of his job as an industrial engineer who focuses on speaking about his personal life, the beginnings of Ventus company and about wind power in Uruguay; three stories in one.<\/p>\n

The conversation takes place at Ventus headquarters, on the tenth floor of a building in Parque Rod\u00f3, a place with an unbeatable view to Montevideo’s promenade where desks and employees are crammed into. Raquet’s corner has a life of its own: notes all over the place, papers glued to the walls, sketches of working installations and projects under construction. In the middle of that organized chaos a picture of a wind turbine and a family work of art with stands out: two small hand prints dedicated to \u2018the best dad in the world\u2019.<\/p>\n

It’s that the engineer, married to Stephanie Delay, has two daughters and he is expecting a third heir, on his way.<\/p>\n

But the family is not the only expanding thing. The wall has more space for more works and projects. That is what Ventus is working on, after becoming the pioneer private wind power company in Uruguay and having today, with less than five years of existence, four operating wind farms and eight under construction, adding a total of almost 200 million dollars in businesses by 2016.<\/p>\n

The world of renewable energy is relatively new in this country as it is for Raquet himself, who in his college days was not even certain about studying engineering. Disobeying the advice given by a psychologist specialized in vocational guidance, he chose his major by process of elimination and pragmatism. \u2018I’m awful at mathematics, but in the year 2000 studying engineering gave you good career opportunities and opened doors\u2019, confesses fearlessly, while he claims that later on he would fall in love with his profession.<\/p>\n

While studying at the University of Montevideo, he started working as a currier for Engraw, the business his family has had for over seven decades. As a matter of fact, the engineer brags about his knowledge on the textile industry, which he practically has in his genes although he states he is now a little \u201crusty\u201d in the area. The fact is that with a factory in Fray Marcos (Florida) and headquarters in the capital city, this company is positioned as the second most important wool manufacturer in the country, since its exports reach seven million kilos of annual wool top. Later on in his studies, he started working on maintenance, under the engineer in charge of the plant. It was then when he realized the consumption cost of electrical power was highly expensive for the company-from 2002 to 2012 it had risen by 300% in dollars- and he started doing research on how to lower it.<\/p>\n

A POSSIBLE MADNESS<\/strong>
\nHe therefore got in touch with Juan Pablo Saltre and Miguel Causa, former college classmate and professor, who had worked together on the installation of Kentilux, the first private wind farm of an UTE tender, and who, based on that experience, had started their own entrepreneurship: Ventus.<\/p>\n

By 2010 Raquet\u2019s idea seemed madness; installing a wind turbine in the factory to try to lower the consumption was unprecedented. However, the first-born of the family \u2013 they are eight siblings, including a \u201cstep-sister\u201d \u2013 didn\u2019t find it difficult to convince everyone about the initiative\u2019s potential. \u201cIgnorance and innocence worked in our favor, because everyone was saying we were crazy, that it was unfeasible, that it was financially unprofitable\u201d, he recalls. Furthermore, figures supported that pessimism: installing a wind turbine requires an investment of about 4 million dollars. Almost half of that cost corresponds only to the purchase of the wind turbine; the rest includes logistics, assembly, road works, civil and electrical. To make matters worse, \u201cassuming that the wind power issue is still today in the early stages, back then it was much worse\u201d, recalls the engineer.
\nHowever, that madness came true and that wind turbine became the first one installed in a factory in Latinamerica. Besides, Engraw was pioneer member of the WindMade certification, which is given to companies that use wind power. As a matter of fact, it was so rewarding that a year later the company decided to install a second wind turbine in the plant.
\nHow did such investment end up being financially feasible for a 120-employee company? For starters, Engraw was paying between 600 and 700 thousand dollars per year for electrical power and so they managed to halve its costs. Nowadays, 60% of the energy used in the factory comes from a wind turbine. \u2018There was an important cost cutting. And most importantly, there was a new investments promotion law which exempts tax to initiatives of this kind and it works really well. That helped a lot in the decision-making, and it was the reason why we later on would receive many other projects.\u2019 All of this led to the investment paying itself off within four or five years. <\/p>\n

By the time Engraw installed the second wind turbine, Raquet was at the other side of the table. \u201cI had had such a great time and it had been such an interesting experience that I joined Ventus\u201d, says the man who became the third partner of the entrepreneurship. Clean and cheap energy.<\/p>\n

When he provides information, with a sort of educational tone of voice, the businessman looks more relaxed. Always kind, he seems introvert. He doesn’t like talking about his personal life and he seems more at ease when the conversation revolves around Ventus’ projects, what they are doing, and more specifically what they are planning to do; but before that, he goes on about his brief retrospective. <\/p>\n

After the experience with Engraw, when Raquet had already become essential part of the team, the novice company realized it was possible to expand what had been done as a business prototype and replicated the initiative with another factory. The accumulation of successes led to the following project: Ventus decided to have a wind turbine of its own, not for their own consumption but to sell energy to the market. That was the kick-start of Libertad wind farm, which today has four wind turbines. <\/p>\n

At this point, it is worth mentioning that wind power has two fundamental advantages: it is environmentally friendly and cheap.
\nIn order to illustrate this, Raquet goes back to the graphics: he enters ADME’s website, the Uruguayan market regulatory agency, and points at the computer’s screen. \u201cADME has all its wind turbines at its disposal to cover the demand of all the country. They activate them as needed, with one rule in mind: from the cheapest to the most expensive. The wind power is the cheapest energy and is always working. Second is Salto Grande’s dam; Palmar central, Baygorria and Terra; Motores, which runs on gas oil, or Punta del Tigre, which runs on gas, among others. The latest generator activated is the one which sets the so called ‘spot price’. Therefore, wind power is spectacular, because, if it didn’t exist, I would have to go to Punta del Tigre turned on all the time and if there is an important drought, I would have to import energy from Argentina or Brazil, both of whom will sell at twice the price\u201d.<\/p>\n

ENERGY UNDER CONSTRUCTION<\/strong>
\nThe engineer admits that, during 2014 it was \u201cspectacular\u201d, there was a complete shift in the scene. The economy slowed down, there was a decline in the price of oil. Also, the drought and the change of government have led to companies being more cautious at the moment of investing. This, added to the fact that the country \u201calready has its capacity of wind power\u201d almost at its fullest, made Ventus to look abroad. \u201cWe are a young company and we want to make the most of the acquired knowledge working offshore. We specialize in developing, building and operating wind farms in Uruguay, where the market has shrunk a lot\u201d, claims Raquet.
\nPeru, Bolivia, Argentina and Panama are possible markets for new projects. Ventus has applied for tenders in the first two and is looking at Argentina, where it assures that \u201cthe demand is extraordinary\u201d, but the financial-political conditions at the moment hinder our investments. \u201cThis is going to change and we want to be ready for when that happens\u201d, he points. As for Panama, the partners have taken part in the wind power fair in July and have projects in sight. \u201cWe want to do the same as in Uruguay: to develop Ventus I wind farm, of 10 MW, we were the stock brokers and raised 20 million dollars with both small and large scale Uruguayan investors. We want to do the same in Panama, with Uruguayan and Panamanian investors\u201d.<\/p>\n

In every country there are existing wind power actors, but Raquet assures that, although their company is \u201cmicroscopic\u201d compared to the bigger ones in the industry, they are confident that they can compete head to head. \u201cOur interest in those markets is not to make a profit, but to be able to stay in business, make opportunities, so we offer it at cost price. We are confident that opportunities will arise in other places\u201d. <\/p>\n

The environmental aspect is also attractive when selling wind power as a product. \u201cPeople are aware of the climate phenomena that have happened over the last few years, there has been a tremendous water crisis over the last six months, last year it rained like it hadn’t rained in decades… The fact that the climate change is real is vox pop and Uruguay is a renewable country\u201d, says Raquet, although he confesses that, when a company has to decide whether or not to invest in a wind turbine, companies prioritize the financial factor over the ecological awareness.<\/p>\n

A FINITE UNIVERSE<\/strong>
\nIn addition to the unquestionable benefits of wind power, it is worth pointing out that in no case we can depend 100% on this source. The variability of wind requires that we are always connected to the UTE grid. The syllogism is simple: if there is no wind, the arm does not move; if the arm does not move, the power is not generated. If we depended only on the wind turbine; light would flicker. \u201cThe supply always has to be strong; in a dam you throw water and that generates 50 consistent MW. Whereas for the wind power, it goes up and down according to the air flow. Moreover, the power generated can not be stored. That is why, the number of wind farms needed is limited. Currently, the country with the highest percentage of wind power in the world is Denmark. It is estimated that by 2016 Uruguay will match them, with a proportion of between 25% and 30%. If the wind power surpasses 30%, managing the grid would become complicated, explains Raquet. \u201cBoth Wind and Solar power has to be marginal so that the supply is consistent. Here, it has grown significantly over the last three years: the country went from having 50 MW to having 500MW, and next year it will surpass 1000. We have supplied so much wind power that ADME does not know how it will handle it; they are getting training on that\u201d. Today Ventus has four operative wind farms, adding up to a total of 30,5 MW which are supplying power to the grid at this very moment. Furthermore, they own another eight farms under construction, of 65MW; three of the which will start working this year and the other three in 2016. With the exception of one wind turbine which is used for a cold-storage plant’s own consumption, all of them correspond to investments of national companies from different industries \u2013 clothing, catering, transport, etc \u2013 which have acquired one wind turbine each to sell generated power. \u201cWe aimed at companies which could invest the necessary four million dollars and diversified their range. Many of them have the environmental issue in mind\u201d, says Raquet. With that purchase, each company deducts taxes according to the law which promotes investments. By 2016, Uruguay will have another 1000 MW of power coming from wind power; 100 MW will come from wind farms built and operated by Ventus. Wind power is no longer the future but the present and Raquet is well aware of that, it’s here to stay.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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[tp lang=\u00bbes\u00bb not_in=\u00bben\u00bb]Entrevista de la revista Seisgrados al Ing. Francis Raquet, Socio y Director Comercial de Ventus. A los 32 an\u0303os, es uno de los tres socios de Ventus, empresa pionera en energi\u0301a eo\u0301lica en Uruguay. En charla con Seisgrados, este ingeniero industrial que eligio\u0301 la carrera por descarte cuenta co\u0301mo se metio\u0301 en el […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,17],"tags":[28,26,27,19],"class_list":["post-145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sin-categoria","category-ventus","tag-emprendedores","tag-francis-raquet","tag-uruguay","tag-ventus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ventus.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ventus.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ventus.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ventus.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ventus.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ventus.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153,"href":"https:\/\/ventus.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145\/revisions\/153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ventus.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ventus.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ventus.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}