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https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2025/10/19/uruguays-renewable-charge-a-small-nation-a-big-lesson-for-the-world/>
“Uruguay did what most nations still call impossible: it built a power grid
that runs almost entirely on renewables—at half the cost of fossil fuels. The
physicist who led that transformation says the same playbook could work
anywhere—if governments have the courage to change the rules.
For Ramon Méndez Galain, the energy transition isn’t just about climate—it’s
about economics. Uruguay’s shift to renewables, he argues, demonstrated that
clean energy can be cheaper, more stable, and create more jobs than fossil
fuels. Once the country adjusted the playing field that had long favored oil
and gas, renewables outperformed on every front: halving costs, creating 50,000
jobs, and protecting the economy from price shocks.
"If you get the incentives right, the market will do the rest. You don’t need
miracles, you need rules that make economic sense," Méndez Galain told me. I
interviewed Uruguay’s former energy minister, who served from 2008 to 2015, at
the Mountain Towns 2030 Climate Solutions Summit in Breckenridge, Colorado—a
forum that brings together local leaders and sustainability experts to explore
pragmatic climate solutions.
When Méndez Galain began thinking about Uruguay’s energy system, the country
faced a classic small-nation dilemma: high electricity demand growth, almost no
domestic fossil fuel resources, and a rising dependence on imported oil and
gas. Hydropower had already been tapped, and blackouts were beginning to creep
into both industrial and residential sectors.
Uruguay is a small yet prosperous nation. With a population of 3.5 million, it
has a gross domestic product of around $80 billion, and the highest per capita
income in Latin America. Its economy relies on agriculture, livestock,
forestry, and a growing services sector rather than heavy industry. That makes
its renewable pivot even more remarkable: a mid-sized, export-oriented economy
proving that clean power can be cheaper, more stable, and job-rich—without
relying on massive industrial demand.”
Via Christoph S.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
