What is the cost of unused energy in Uruguay?

In Uruguay, unused energy sometimes costs the utility as much as $90 million a year according to officials. However, this has allowed them to stabilize the grid and achieve a significant milestone in renewable energy integration.

Why does Uruguay have a power grid?

In the same way Uruguay’s abundance of wind and rivers proved fortuitous for energy sovereignty, so was the government’s oversight of the electric grid.

Is Uruguay a net importer of energy?

Once a net importer of energy, Uruguay now exports its surplus energy to neighbouring Brazil and Argentina. In less than two decades, Uruguay broke free of its dependence on oil imports and carbon emitting power generation, transitioning to renewable energy that is owned by the state but with infrastructure paid for by private investment.

Is Uruguay a repeatable framework of energy sovereignty for developing countries?

Ramón Mendéz Galain believes so. Uruguay’s former national director of energy in the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, who was the impetus for the country’s shift away from dirty fuels, has been promoting the country’s success as a repeatable framework of energy sovereignty for developing countries.

Why did Mendéz appoint a national director of energy in Uruguay?

It wasn’t until three years later when Mendéz – at the time a university particle physicist who understood the potential for Uruguay’s wind industry – wrote a detailed proposal for a national transition to non-nuclear renewable energy which led to Uruguay’s president appointing him as the national director of energy.

Does Uruguay have fossil fuels?

A relatively small nation spanning 175,000 square kilometres (76,568 square miles) with a population of 3.4 million – 96% of whom live in urban centres – Uruguay has no significant fossil fuel reserves. Fortuitously, its geography makes it ideal for utilizing powerful rivers and uninterrupted grasslands for wind energy.