How much does Uruguay's energy bill cost a year?

Even in years with average rainfall, costs could often skyrocket to $1.1 billion a year. According to UTE, droughts and fluctuations in oil pricing threatened to more than double that, bringing Uruguay’s annual energy bill to $2.5 billion.

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.

How does Uruguay generate 97 percent of its electricity from renewable sources?

Going for gales: Wind turbine farms are one of the ways Uruguay managed to generate 97 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. (Courtesy of Natasha Hakimi Zapata)

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.

Is Uruguay a net importer of energy?

Once a net importer of energy, Uruguay now exports its surplus energy to neighbouring Brazil and Argentina. In less than two decades, Uruguay broke free of its dependence on oil imports and carbon emitting power generation, transitioning to renewable energy that is owned by the state but with infrastructure paid for by private investment.

Why does Uruguay have a power grid?

In the same way Uruguay’s abundance of wind and rivers proved fortuitous for energy sovereignty, so was the government’s oversight of the electric grid.