An AI-generated image of the Puerto Peñasco solar complex in its initial stage of operation
The state-owned energy utility Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has announced an ambitious expansion of solar energy projects totaling 1.5 gigawatts of production and storage.
Armed with 30 billion Mexican pesos ($1.62 billion), CFE’s flagship project will be a 580 megawatt expansion of the Puerto Peñasco solar complex in the state of Sonora to 1 gigawatt of capacity, cementing its position as the largest solar farm in Latin America.
Sonora is one of Mexico’s sunniest states, receiving on average between 300 and 350 days of dawn-to-dusk sunshine a year.
The expansion will also include battery energy storage that will eventually amount to 30% of total capacity, and all phases of the expansion are slated for completion by the end of 2028.
“We are delivering on a strategic objective: ensuring the country’s energy sovereignty through orderly, clean and sufficient planning,” said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum during the official presentation.
Two additional locations in the state of Coahuila will see another 556 megawatts of solar power loaded onto the national grid: in Rio Escondido with 180MW and Carbón II with 376MW. Each will include 30% battery storage capacity.
Three more renewable energy projects are also being explored for the states of Durango, Quintana Roo, and Guanajuato.
“We are working through tripartite technical committees to review the technical characteristics and the status of prior permitting for each project. This is a binding planning exercise that will allow for an orderly start to development,” explained Emilia Calleja, CEO of CFE at the presentation.
CFE will be working alongside the Ministry of Energy (SENER) and National Infrastructure Fund (FONADIN).
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America and Israel’s renewed war on Iran and the resulting closure of the Strait of Hormuz have driven energy prices up substantially in the last 17 days. The conflict is showing no signs of de-escalation, which will likely lead to sunny states like Mexico seeing the tragedy as the ideal moment to up the ante on an energy transition.
Mexico’s population is expected to climb from 132 million to a peak of 150 million by 2050, at which point some 97% are expected to live in urban areas according to various population trend data.
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A rapidly growing middle-class—now a larger share of the population than the poor—will be demanding ever increasing amounts of energy, and with so much sunshine year ’round and the honor of being the world’s largest producer of silver—a key metal in the production of photovoltaic panels—solar energy presents as an obvious solution to energy needs in times of high oil prices.
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