Uruguay: A Blueprint For Renewable Transition?

 With the recent failure of COP30 to bring about new pledges to cut fossil fuels, and dwindling support for the COP process altogether, climate efforts seem to be (literally) going up in flames, with net zero goals bleaker than ever.  

Despite efforts, fossil fuels still supply around 82% of the world’s energy, and this seems unlikely to change any time soon. Can we escape our reliance? Are we in too deep? Ramón Méndez Galain and Uruguay’s green transition seems to suggest that perhaps it is not too late.  

In the early 2000s, Uruguay – with no major fossil fuel reserves of its own – relied on a mix of unstable hydropower and imported oil. A combination of droughts and record high oil prices in 2008 meant the economy faced unstable supply and regular black outs, with Uruguay forced to purchase oil from neighbours at high prices, often spending as much as 2% of GDP on energy imports.  

Uruguayan president Vázquez knew this was unsustainable and, looking to other solutions, encountered a paper by Galain. Galain was a Uruguayan nuclear physicist who had recently returned to the country after working abroad for over a decade. Many at the time advocated nuclear power as a solution to the crisis, but he disagreed. After deeper research, he discovered that the solution to Uruguay’s issues was not nuclear energy, but renewable energy. He published his findings in a 2008 paper, advocating green energy - specifically wind power - as the solution to the crisis. 

Soon after, Galain was offered a job as the National Director of Energy to design Uruguay’s energy policy until 2030. He accepted. His plan aimed to take advantage of Uruguay’s abundance of wind – a resource as yet unharnessed. Galain would exploit this through the construction of hundreds of wind turbines across the country’s plains and flatlands. 

His plan was met with support across Uruguay’s political parties, with a multiparty agreement in 2010 adopting the energy transition to renewable sources as state policy, ensuring its longevity and continuity. The agreement provided clear and stable regulatory framework, and allowed for consistent public and private sector investment . As such, Galain was able to go ahead with his plan uninterrupted by party politics, going on to install around 50 windfarms across the country over the next decade.  

But has Galain’s transition been a success for the Uruguayan economy? By most accounts yes, with the share of energy generation from renewable sources reaching 98% in 2019 with far more security, and no threat of blackout, as in the 2000s. Significantly, energy is far cheaper than before, which Galain suggests has contributed to reduced poverty levels from 40 to 10% in just two decades.  

The construction of the farms, as well as the industry’s growth more generally, has contributed to the creation of up to 50,000 jobs, representing 3% of the country’s workforce. Importantly, this was heavily supported by the government, which focused on training and work development schemes for workers to align with the changing job market while ensuring that existing plant closures were undertaken alongside unions to prevent negative impacts for workers.  

There are also many examples of the technology coexisting alongside traditional industries, reducing worries of creative destruction, with the Guardian reporting the case of Santiago Revello, the owner of a beef factory in central Uruguay which is now also the host of 22 wind turbines, providing the family a healthy side income.  

There have, however, been criticisms of the scheme. These are largely related to the privatisation of the industry giving rise to concerns among unions who claim that over 50% of energy generation is in the hands of the private sector. Uruguay is still facing the most expensive energy generation in south America, raising questions about how much consumers are truly benefiting from the transition.  

Furthermore, there are questions surrounding whether these tactics could be applied successfully to other economies. Did Uruguay succeed simply because of its wind? Galain bluntly disagrees, stating that it is not the resources, but an understanding of the power of renewables that enables their success. “When we eliminate the strong biases that favour fossil fuels, renewables emerge as the clear winner”.  

Guided by this idea, Galain founded IVY as the “leading catalyst for the transition to sustainable, resilient and just development models in the Global South”,aiming to guide development through renewable energy. His blueprint has been recommended as a way for small countries or islands lacking natural resources to generate their own energy, freeing themselves from powerful energy companies.  

Overall, Galain’s approach provides promising guidelines for a move towards sustainability, with clear methods for application elsewhere, particularly in developing nations. But the most important lesson from Uruguay’s example is that of unity. We have clearly seen how when parties unite and allow projects to outlast individual leadership, significant changes can happen. In a global political climate of polarisation and instability, Uruguay’s example is a beacon of hope.