Over the past two decades, Uruguay has made a pair of notable transitions, one being to move away from fossil fuels to the point that last year 99% of the country’s electricity came from renewable sources. These are hydroelectricity (47%), wind (34%), biomass (14%) and solar (3%). A second shift was the installation in the country of three gargantuan pulp-export plants and the consolidation of vast monocrop tree plantations to feed them. Last year, pulp exports for the first time became the small South American country’s top export earner, generating US$2.5 billion, or 20% of its total. While the energy transition boosted renewable-power production and the pulp mills spurred exports, a new but controversial project in the works is being promoted as a means of contributing to both goals. That project, announced in 2023 by the Chilean company Highly Innovative Fuels Global (HIF Global), involves construction of... [Log in to read more]