https://archive.md/GQ9t6
"When Ramón Méndez Galain’s phone rang in 2008, he could hardly believe who was
on the other end of the line.
It was the president of Uruguay, Tabaré Vázquez, and he was calling with an
offer: Would Galain, a self-described simple university professor, be
interested in serving as the country’s energy secretary?
The invitation was a “tremendous surprise,” Galain recalled. “I immediately
understood that I wanted to do it, but it took me some time in order to be
brave enough.”
Galain’s decision to take the job more than a decade and a half ago not only
changed his life, but also set Uruguay on a rapid path to becoming one of the
world’s clean energy leaders. Under his leadership, the small South American
country went from relying heavily on fossil fuels for electricity production to
establishing a stable grid powered almost entirely by renewable sources,
including water, wind, solar and biomass waste.
“We proved that yes, it is possible to manage a power system with almost 100
percent renewables,” said Galain, 64, who was Uruguay’s energy secretary from
2008 to 2015 and now runs a nonprofit organization focused on helping
governments achieve a similar transition away from fossil fuels.
His new vision, he said, is to see Uruguay’s success story replicated in other
countries — an ambition that has earned him recognition among energy policy
experts and climate groups. On Monday, Climate Breakthrough, a San
Francisco-based global philanthropy, announced Galain as one of the recipients
of a $4 million award, which the group says is the largest climate prize for
individuals.
“Climate Breakthrough is really focused on identifying these exceptional
individuals who have out-of-the-ordinary ambition and capacity to turn their
ideas into reality,” said Savanna Ferguson, the group’s executive director.
“Ramón has clearly demonstrated he has exactly that.”"
Originally at
<
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2025/09/19/uruguay-renewable-energy-climate-breakthrough/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
