by Julián Pombo

Nature
Wind farms in Uruguay incorporate mandatory environmental conservation policies, including impact prevention, ecological compensation, habitat restoration, and continuous monitoring, generating additional environmental benefits beyond clean energy production.

The installation of wind farms in Uruguay is coordinated with DINACEA (National Directorate for Quality and Environmental Assessment), the objectives of SNAP (National System of Protected Areas), and national climate policies, integrating renewable energy generation with biodiversity conservation, ecological restoration, and compliance with the country’s environmental commitments.

The State: creates fiscal and contractual conditions to attract private investment that provides clean energy, reduces energy costs, meets climate targets, and finances environmental conservation measures.

This is what Pampero: Nature is about…

Why an expansion?

Nature was a part of the base game. A shorter track and the usual rules.
I thought the theme alone should be enough to attract players to follow this strategy.
I was wrong, nobody liked that.
Actually, someone did, Vital Lacerda. I tried to make it work cause if Vital likes it, it’s a keeper. Despite all my efforts the Nature Reserve was being ignored so I decided to leave it on pause for the time being.

While I was researching Remote locations, i.e. small settlements not connected to the electrical network, I discovered that those areas have the best winds for installing wind farms. Also, they are inhabited by a lot of wildlife, which in turn affects many flora and fauna.

The focus wasn’t to have a system that punished players but to show how wildlife is affected and how companies are incentivized by the government to protect it. In the process of doing it, I wanted to keep it simple – not adding many steps and components to an already busy game.

Since the Nature reserve strategy wasn’t working on its own, the most thematic approach seemed to be to unite it with the Remote. So, instead of adding another income track I decided to put them together.

The joint track system with both income markers jumping each other worked out great and Nature was included in the final version of the game.

As you may have noticed I wasn’t willing to let the Nature reserve go. The message is important to me. Every bit of Pampero is important to me.

Cardal
Uruguay has already completed the transition in power generation — with a very high share of renewables. The current bottleneck is something else: the grid that moves that energy. The challenge is not generating energy, but delivering it when and where it is needed.
That’s where Cardal comes in.

The Punta del Tigre–Cardal 500 kV transmission line
The transmission line reduces curtailment — clean energy that would otherwise be wasted due to lack of transmission capacity. Without this kind of infrastructure, the transition remains incomplete.

The energy transition does not stop at electricity generation. It requires electrifying sectors that still depend on fossil fuels: electric transport, energy-intensive industry, replacing gas and fuel oil for heat. This demands firm capacity, a strong grid, and system resilience.

The Cardal substation: Increases overall system capacity, adds redundancy (“a second transmission path”) and allows demand growth without increasing blackout risk. It reduces fossil fuel dependence during critical periods: low wind conditions, droughts and peak demand events
A stronger, more interconnected grid: improves energy redistribution, optimizes the use of renewable generation and reduces the need to dispatch thermal plants

I started researching this just by chance, as I was biking as usual and noticed that the old wooden poles were being replaced by newer ones.

“A second transmission path”
One of my goal when designing a game is to keep players involved when is not their turn. One of these situations in Pampero happens when a player takes a contract that is connected through a “red line”. That gives the following player the opportunity to gain a connection tile. I wanted to push this even further, to keep more players interested.

Electric Poles
Now, the following players have the chance to place Electric Poles and earn money based on the previously placed Transformers. This was one of the few elements of the game that was an instant success.

Once again, thank you for reading!

Julián