Taking full advantage of their natural resources and good local policies, a few brave countries are living the dream of being 100% renewable energy.
ENERGIA LIMPIA XXI. Four small nations are doing great things in renewable energy issues, giving tremendous lessons to big polluting nations.
The first of these leaders is Costa Rica
In 2017 the country hit an impressive record. 300 hundred days of 100 % renewable energy generation mainly supported by its hydroelectric generation projects. In 2018 the new President of this nation announced a ban on fossil fuels promoting instead hybrid, electric and other sustainable alternatives. How in the world is that possible?… Well its been a long way.. three decades ago Costa Rica began to talk about clean energy when it seemed to be something crazy or at least like building castles in the sand, but now the time has proved they were right and the country has achieved great success beyond promises and good intentions.
Costa Rica is advancing steadily to become the first country in Latin America to be 100% renewable taking advantage of hydroelectric, solar, geothermal and biomass resources. Energía Limpia XXI states that according to the WWF Costa Rica has a potential of 223,000 gigawatts per year of hydroelectricity, of which at least 10 percent is being exploited, and has a great capacity for geothermal and wind.
The winds of change in Uruguay
The 3.4 million inhabitants nation has already paved the way for the change using wind and water. Energía Limpia XXI noted that in the last 6 years Uruguay has invested more than 22 billion dollars in energy and sustainable removable now emerging as a regional leader. The country has extraordinary winds and that is the source of its success in renewable energy. Now they are promoting more solar and biogas for rural areas. The country might be small in numbers but is great in success.
Iceland and Lesotho
Hydroelectric Lesotho: In 1998 was inaugurated a hydroelectric enabling the sale of energy and water in South Africa. The country produces 90% of the energy industry demand. This small nation is based on the processing of agricultural products and garment manufacturing. Lesotho has managed to be 100% renewable, thanks to hydro power but still is struggling with drought at the time buying power from other neighboring countries. Renewable process must be consolidated and is advancing.
Volcanoes in Iceland: Energy generation in Iceland is based almost entirely on renewable energy. The has proved that volcanoes are one of the cleanest, safe and stable sources of renewable energy. Iceland also uses hydropower as the second most important energy source. Over the last two year it has been one of greenest economies in the world and is also in the top five geothermal energy producers worldwide.
General reflection
Being 100% renewable is a real alternative to deal with climate change and the most important thing is to reduce the dependency of one energy source. The main challenge ahead is to diversify the energy matrix and this is only possible with good policies that attract more public private investments.
***