Mexican Government Wants 33% of Energy from Renewable Sources by 2018

laht.com

MEXICO CITY – The government wants 33 percent of Mexico’s installed energy capacity to come from renewable sources by 2018, Energy Secretary Pedro Joaquin Coldwell said.

“We are proposing to expand the role of renewable energy to 33 percent of installed capacity by the year 2018,” Coldwell told participants at an energy conference taking place in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo.

Mexico has proven resources to generate more than 18,000 gigawatt hours (GW/h) per year from geothermal, minihydraulic, wind, solar and bioenergy sources, the energy secretary said in document distributed at the International Renewable Energy Forum, which ends on Tuesday.

Legislation that goes beyond the planned energy industry reforms and makes it easier to operate in the electricity generation business must be approved by Congress, Coldwell said.

Lawmakers are expected to debate the legislation in a few weeks, the energy secretary said.

Approval of the legislation will make it easier for “both large companies with cutting-edge technology and those who want to put a solar panel on the roof of their house to do so, to acquire a solar heater or to lease a part of their land for wind generation,” Coldwell said.

Only 24 of the nearly 200 countries in the world use geothermal resources to generate electricity, with Mexico ranking fifth on the list, the energy secretary said.

Mexico currently gets 80 percent of its energy from fossil fuels, with 17 percent being generated with renewable sources and 3 percent from nuclear fission.