Wind power in Tamaulipas to increase renewable energy supply to Soriana

Mexican retailer Organización Soriana, along with the Mexican company GEMEX, announce the construction of two wind farms in Güemez, Tamaulipas, representing a total investment of more than US$130 million per project. The wind farms will be financed with loan funds from the North American Development Bank (NADB) and the Mexican commercial bank, BANORTE, as well as equity investments from GEMEX.

 

 

The La Mesa Wind Farm will be developed on 1,366 acres, while the Victoria Wind Farm will be built on approximately 1,730 acres. Each project consists of 15 wind turbines with a total installed generation capacity of 49.5 MW and is expected to produce an estimated 181 gigawatt-hours/year of electricity, which will be consumed by Soriana for 20 years as part of an agreement to supply sustainable energy to 311 of its stores, thereby actively contributing to the development of sustainable energy while at the same time reducing its energy costs.

The electricity from these two wind farms is equivalent to 14% of the electricity currently produced in the state of Tamaulipas, or the annual consumption of 51,046 households. Additionally, the renewable energy produced by these projects is similar to removing 58,000 automobiles a year from roadways.

“As established in our Sustainability Policy launched in 2012, building the two wind farms is bringing us closer to our goal of supplying our stores with 100% renewable energy,” stated Rodrigo Benet Córdova, Director of Strategic Planning and Communication for Soriana. “Once the two wind farms are in operation, we will be supplying renewable energy to 506 stores, thus helping to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and continue promoting environmental protection.”

For his part, NADB Managing Director Gerónimo Gutiérrez stated that “NADB continues to promote clean and renewable energy projects in Tamaulipas, as well as throughout the U.S.-Mexico border region,” in reference to the US$40 million loans provided by the financial institution to each project, adding, “These projects are a great example of collaboration among private industry, the commercial banking sector (BANORTE) and development institutions (NADB) to foster the growth of clean and renewable energy in Mexico, which will significantly contribute to meeting the goals of the federal government regarding clean energy generation and the reduction of greenhouse gases. We applaud Soriana’s strong commitment to energy sustainability.”