Mexico hopeful for green energy

thenews.com.mx

Wind turbines sit at a test project at La Venta in Oaxaca. DALLAS MORNING NEWS PHOTO/ALBERTO ROMERO SAUCEDO

BY J.E. COLLINSON
The News


Entrepreneurs and industry experts from Mexico’s burgeoning sustainable energy sector gathered in the capital this week to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the renewable energy market at the Wind-Power Exposition 2015.

Pedro Joaquín Coldwell, head of the Secretariat for Energy (Sener), said at the inauguration of the conference that Mexico can viably reach its renewable energy targets by 2020, as the energy reforms have allowed many new and competitive actors in the field of energy generation.

Industry experts at the conference said that the goal for the wind energy generation over the next 10 years is to increase installed capacity to 12,000 megawatts (MW), which is 40 percent of Mexico’s entire goal for renewables.

“Mexico’s renewable sector is now starting to gather pace, with continued growth in the wind sector and increased activity now in solar. The recent energy reforms mandate that 35 percent of Mexico’s energy generation should be from renewable energy sources by 2024, which is creating significant opportunities for developers and investors across all renewable technologies,” said David Rogers of Union Energía.

Organized by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the Mexican Wind Energy Association and E.J. Krausse of Mexico, the event was attended by representatives from both government and private bodies, and served as an information sharing platform for industry representatives.

“Mexico is already fourth in the world in terms of geothermal energy production,” said Alvaro Gonzalez of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). “However, right now, the sector we are focusing on most is wind energy generation. We already have 2,000 MW capacity of wind turbines installed, and are developing more in new facilities.”

Wind farms are not without their controversy: in August 2014, protests by indigenous groups in Oaxaca forced a proposed 396 MW wind farm to be relocated due to concerns about land rights.

González, however, puts the difficulties down to underlying social issues and says that there are strict regulations for the development of wind farms, including those concerned with indigenous rights.

“We work with the World Bank, whose Climate Green Fund has strict requirements, one of which is that all proposed energy development projects have a plan for indigenous populations,” he said.

“Before you conduct any wind energy project, you have to host a general meeting, explaining to all stakeholders the details of the project, its characteristics, the location, and to address all the concerns of the local population.”

Mexico is on the frontier of turning into a new emerging market for wind energy production, with modern legislation and optimistic targets. Mexico will need to increase its capacity by 2,000 MW per year to reach the goals set over the next decade, and at the WindPower expo attendees feel confident that this can be achieved.

The WindPower Exposition 2015 was held at Centro Banamex, Feb. 25-26.