Uruguay returns battery energy storage station

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.

Uruguay, a nation praised for its renewable energy achievements, has announced plans to expand offshore exploration for fossil fuels, sparking controversy and raising questions about its commitment to green energy.

The issue is not energy security – in fact, Uruguay is a net energy exporter to neighboring Brazil and Argentina, and has been lauded for “ showing the world how it's done ” when it comes to establishing successful and sovereign decarbonization on a dime.

The Uruguayan state-owned energy company Ancap estimates that there is a 3 to 23 percent probability that oil or gas will be found in areas off the Uruguayan coast. Awareness of the possible existence of oil and gas reserves in the area was raised after a recent discovery of reserves in Namibia, located on the Western Coast of Africa.

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.

Now, after this realization, seven contracts have been drawn with some of the biggest names in the global oil and gas industry to begin exploration in the waters off of Uruguay. The sudden pivot away from its sterling green reputation toward oil and gas production is highly contentious within the Uruguayan ranks.