For years, Uruguay has been extolled as a poster child for green energy ambitions. Last year, the small South American country generated a jaw-dropping 98 percent of its energy from renewable resources and proudly paved the way for a new form of energy sovereignty in a changing climate. The country of fewer that 3.5 million people has been held up as a case study for what can happen when good policy and public and political willpower come together to implement a sweeping and swift energy transition.
The primary driver of Uruguay’s energy transformation was wind power, which currently makes up a stunning 38 percent of the country’s energy mix. At present, Uruguay’s fossil fuel plants provide just 2 percent of the nation’s energy and are only rarely activated in the infrequent case that renewable power production falls short of demand.
“In less than two decades, Uruguay broke free of its dependence on oil…
