Uruguay: 98% renewable from oil - model for the world!

Uruguay: 98% renewable from oil - model for the world!

On June 5, 2025, it can be seen that more and more countries worldwide are gaining a large part of their electricity from renewable energy sources. According to a current report by Oekonews, 19 out of 196 countries gain over 90% of their electricity from such sources. These countries include Albania, Bhutan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iceland and Uruguay. It is noteworthy that there are none of the large industrialized nations such as the USA or China.

Especially Uruguay stands out. The small South American state has significantly rebuilt its electricity matrix until 2019: 50% of the energy comes from hydropower, 30% of wind, 15% from biomass and only 3% from solar energy, while the proportion of oil is only 2%. Historically, the oil content was still 56% of electricity generation in 2006. With massive investments of around $ 6 billion in wind and solar systems, Uruguay was more than halved.

renewable energies as a pioneer

Uruguay has switched to renewable energies over the past 20 years. According to a report from energy future, 43 wind farms with a total output of around 1,500 MW were connected to the power grid in 2018. The country's excellent wind conditions have led to most of these parks over 50 MW of producing performance. The largest of these wind farms, the Parque Eólico Pampa, even reached 141.6 mw.

The Uruguayan government put on a tender model early to promote wind expansion. This strategy also includes the edition of producing components on site, which, for example, led to the establishment of an Enercon plant in Uruguay. Thus, the state has guaranteed successful integration of renewable energy sources into its power supply.

comparison with other countries

The global trends in the use of renewable energies show that other countries are also making considerable progress. According to data from Destatis, the global renewable energies in 2021 were 19 % of global final energy consumption. In countries such as Sweden and Brazil, these shares were 58 % and 47 %. In 2023, the global economy generated renewable energies for 9,029 terawatt hours of electricity, which corresponds to an increase of 5% compared to the previous year.

For Uruguay, developments in renewable energy policy are also important with regard to regional neighbors such as Chile. Chile reformed his energy policy in 2015 and plans to win 80% of its electricity from solar energy by 2030. Large photovoltaic systems are already being built in the Atacama desert. The proportion of solar power in Chile rose from 1% in 2014 to 20% in 2024. Despite the challenges arising from the Ukraine conflict, both Chile and Uruguay show resilience and undisturbed progress in their energy policy.

Overall, Uruguay and many other countries stand as an example of a successful transition to renewable energies, which is both ecologically and economically advantageous. These developments will be crucial to achieve the global climate goals and to secure a sustainable future.