Solar panels in rural Uruguay

Why is Uruguay a'relative energy sovereignty'?

Once reliant on exorbitantly priced fossil fuel imports for nearly half of its energy needs, Uruguay has gone from suffering frequent blackouts and power cuts to relative energy sovereignty based almost entirely on electricity generated from a stable mix of wind, solar, hydroelectric, and bioenergy sources.

What percentage of energy is generated in Uruguay?

Hydroelectric accounted for nearly 56 percent of generation, wind 34 percent, bioenergy 6 percent, solar just under 3 percent, with fossil fuel coming in last at 2 percent. Wind energy came in second only to hydropower, accounting for nearly 34 percent of the energy generated in Uruguay that year.

How much green energy does Uruguay use?

In 2016, even before several more renewables projects went online, it hit 94.5 percent green energy. In 2019, according to an analysis by the Uruguayan company SEG Engineering, the country ran on 98 percent renewable energy.

What's new in Uruguay?

But there have been some notable additions. Towering white wind turbines and glistening solar panels are now as much a part of the iconography of Uruguay as the grass itself, though they began to pop up across the country only in recent years, and seemingly all at once.

Does Uruguay have a power grid?

The map of Uruguay’s electrical grid today is starkly different from that of 2008, when the majority of power was generated at a few hydroelectric dams north of Montevideo and the rest at a handful of fossil fuel plants in the capital. It’s now possible for the entire grid to run several hours a day entirely on wind power.

How does Uruguay get its electricity?

To this day, Uruguay continues to rely heavily on its dams, including the imposing Salto Grande on the Río Uruguay, whose power is shared with Argentina, and several on the Río Negro. For decades, electricity from those dams and from generators running on gas and oil imported largely from Argentina and Brazil met Uruguayans’ energy needs.