MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay's government said on Thursday that 84 percent of its energy last year came from renewable sources.

The small South American country has been pushing for an energy diversification policy focused on developing wind and solar energy since 2008.

"This is innovative on a world level," National Energy Director Ramon Mendez said in an interview posted on the government's site. He also said that Uruguay could surpass Denmark as the country that takes the most advantage of its wind resources and that the government hopes that the use of renewables will rise to 90 percent by 2015.

"By year's end, we'll have enough windmills so that all our electricity will be able to come from there when it blows," Mendez said. "We're also going to have our water stored (in hydroelectric dams) ... and the combination of wind, solar and biomass gives our system a flexibility that will allow it to guarantee at least 90 percent of the electricity that will be consumed in the coming years."