Mexico: Renewables Designed for the Future

On the isthmus of Tehuantepec, the wind can blow up to 70 km/hour and in the Sonora Desert, the intensity of the sun can reach record levels. But sun and wind in Mexico are resources that are plentiful almost everywhere on its almost 2 million km2 surface and the country can also count on more than 1 GW of potential geothermal energy. These facts are enough to make you understand why Mexico is considered a renewables paradise. And the widespread availability of natural resources is paired with legislation designed to develop clean energy and policies to attract “green” technologies and investments from abroad as well. Enel Green Power began its Mexican dealings in the same year as its foundation, 2008. As we were getting started, we were entering the market of the Central American country with the acquisition of three hydroelectric plants. "Today, Enel Green Power is the largest operator of clean energy in Mexico, in terms of installed capacity and portfolio projects." The Worksite that is Always Open Our installed capacity in Mexico is about 730 MW, coming primarily from wind technology (676 MW) divided between six plants located in the states of Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí, Jalisco and Zacatecas. Another 53 MW are hydroelectric, spread over three plants in the states of Michoacán, Jalisco and Guerrero, while 0.13 other MW belong to a pilot solar project – the first in the country equipped with innovative thin-film flexible photovoltaic modules – created for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP16) held in 2010 in Cancun. "We’ve just started construction on new photovoltaic and wind plants with a total capacity of more than 1 GW." Paolo Romanacci, Area Manager for Enel Green Power in Mexico and Central America One of the new solar fields under construction is Villanueva, in the state of Coahuila, with a total installed capacity of 754 MW: it’s the largest photovoltaic plant under construction on the American continent and Enel’s largest solar project worldwide. There is also the Don José plant in the state of Guanajuato, with an installed capacity of 238 MW. Our growth plan in Mexico also includes wind. At the end of March, we kicked off the construction of the Amistad plant, 200 MW of installed capacity at the border with the United States, and we are planning construction of the Salitrillos wind plant, in the state of Tamaulipas, with 93 MW, which we won with the second tender in 2016. In the Heart of the Green Revolution The International Renewable Energy Conference 2017 (IREC), one of the main global events on development policies for green energy, will take place in Mexico City. And that’s not by chance. In 2013, Mexico launched one of the most modern energy reforms in the world, with led to a substantial opening of the market and attracted significant private and foreign investments. The reform made the market stable and in the country it’s now possible to sign contracts for long-term energy supply with the Federal Commission of Electricity (CFE). "Enel Green Power has already made investments of more than 1.5 billion dollars and in the coming two years will invest the same amount again." Paolo Romanacci In 2016, at the first long-term public tender held in the country after the reform, we won the right to sign contracts for the supply of energy for 15 years and green certificates for 20 years with three solar photovoltaic projects. No other company has ever won so many MW in a single tender, without forgetting that we are building solar plants of relevant size, to say the lease, in the country. People at the Centre of Development Our experience in renewables isn’t the only contribution that we are bringing to Mexico along the way to sustainability. Together with clean energy and technologies, we are bringing commitment and results of our model of Creating Shared Value (CSV) to the country. Local communities and the environment are at the centre of our daily work as much as the efficiency of our plants, the working speed of the construction sites and the efficacy of the business plans or in the maintenance of wind turbines and solar panels. In the town of Charcas, where our Dominica wind farm is located, we completed the project “A Hand for Life” to protect the environment, support the activities of local farmers and breeders and bring electricity to the schools of the area. "We built a nursery for the cultivation of cacti and carried out real rescue operations for sixteen indigenous plant species." We’ve also recently signed two collaboration agreements with the Chapingo Autonomous University (UACH) for research and technological transfer in order to increase experimental agricultural and sustainable projects. The main objective is to promote practices and techniques aimed at improving productivity in communities that reside in the areas around our wind plans, in the towns of Ojuelos, Mazapil and Villa de Cos.

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Mexico: Renewables Designed for the Future

Mexico: Renewables Designed for the Future