POSITIVE CORNER #21: A Small Country Setting a Great Example – Uruguay
- Bernd Lorscheider
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Uruguay demonstrates that a small nation can have a major impact and thus serve as a model for the development of other countries:
In around two decades, the country has almost entirely switched its electricity supply to renewable energy. In a recent post, the World Economic Forum (WEF) highlights that Uruguay has transitioned its grid to clean energy in 20 years (ref. https://www.weforum.org/videos/uruguay-switched-its-grid-to-clean-power-in-just-20-years-here-s-how/).
In 2008, the country plunged into a full-blown energy crisis that laid bare significant structural problems. Power cuts became increasingly frequent; the economy’s energy demand was growing faster than supply; the grid was dilapidated; a drought brought hydroelectric power generation virtually to a standstill; and, at the same time, the country was heavily dependent on imported oil.
Over the following two decades or so, Uruguay became a global pioneer with almost entirely renewable electricity generation. Currently, almost 100 per cent of its electricity comes from renewable sources. The path it has taken has, to date, led to security of supply, investment, 50,000 new jobs and social stability.
"One becomes independent of all these wars and other geopolitical events. Ask me what impact this tragic war in Europe has had on the electricity sector in Uruguay – none at all."
Ramon Mendez Galain, ehemaliger nationaler Energie-Direktor Uruguay.
The foundations for this lay in a combination of political continuity, government guidance and pragmatic market integration. Academic analyses show that the public sector set the framework, whilst private actors were involved through tendering processes and long-term planning (ref. https://www.scielo.br/j/asoc/a/gWFhM8MKKfStnC57zkLtSGd/?lang=en). At the same time, a broad social consensus helped to ensure that the transformation remained sustainable across parliamentary terms. The lesson to be learnt from this experience is that transformation is particularly successful when it is shaped not as an isolated measure, but as a shared project for the future. In this way, what began as an energy issue became a project for the future that combines improved living conditions, resilience and economic development.
This is a powerful example of the ω-dimension of leadership: in this context, leadership means that the integration of all the positive human and societal forces within a country leads not only to greater efficiency, but above all to a sustainable improvement in the way people in that country live and work together. This is precisely where the real learning challenge lies for organisations, projects and societies: how do we create conditions that achieve genuine, sustainable progress based on human participation and dignity?
PS:
This is not the first time Uruguay has been a global pioneer. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup in America having just concluded, it is worth recalling that the country became the first-ever World Cup champion in 1930.😉
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