Uruguay’s green power revolution: rapid shift to wind shows the world how it’s done. Stung by the 2008 oil price spike, Uruguay now produces up to 98% of its electricity from renewables. Can other countries follow suit?
by Wagamaga
Uruguay’s green power revolution: rapid shift to wind shows the world how it’s done. Stung by the 2008 oil price spike, Uruguay now produces up to 98% of its electricity from renewables. Can other countries follow suit?
by Wagamaga
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Uruguay imports its oil, so it had a problem. Demand for energy in the country had grown by 8.4% the previous year and household energy bills were increasing at a similar rate. The 3.4 million-strong population was becoming restless. Lacking alternatives, President Tabaré Vázquez was forced to buy energy from neighbouring states at higher prices, even though Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay had a mutual aid agreement in case of emergency conditions.
To escape the trap, Vázquez needed rapid solutions. He turned to an unlikely source: Ramón Méndez Galain, a physicist who would transform the country’s energy grid into one of the cleanest in the world.
Today, the country has almost phased out fossil fuels in electricity production. Depending on the weather, anything between 90% and 95% of its power comes from renewables. In some years, that number has crept as high as 98%.