Uruguay''s Energy Storage Containers: Powering a Green
Uruguay''s now testing “second-life” EV batteries in storage containers. It''s like giving retired Tesla batteries a pension plan—they get to chill in containers instead of landfills.
The results speak for themselves. Today, Uruguay produces nearly 99% of its electricity from renewable sources, with only a small fraction—roughly 1%–3%—coming from flexible thermal plants, such as those powered by natural gas. They are used only when hydroelectric power cannot fully cover periods when wind and solar energy are low.
Since 2019, energy has become a significant export for Uruguay, with some years bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. In most of the world, when anyone mentions the need to transition to renewables, climate change dominates the public discussion.
The map of Uruguay's electrical grid today is starkly different from that of 2008, when the majority of power was generated at a few hydroelectric dams north of Montevideo and the rest at a handful of fossil fuel plants in the capital. It's now possible for the entire grid to run several hours a day entirely on wind power.
Other concerns focus on cost and scalability. While Uruguay's approach has delivered low prices, some energy analysts worry that replicating the model in countries with higher demand could require costly improvements to transmission infrastructure and significantly more storage.
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