Mexico will have 10 more wind power plants at the end of 2019

Mexico will have 10 wind power plants that will produce electricity with the additional wind at the end of this year, the Mexican Wind Energy Association (AMDEE) said.

“There are 10 wind farm plants in multiple states. There are several in Tamaulipas. Yucatan will start with another project, ”said the president of the renewable agency, Leopoldo Rodríguez.

The installed wind turbines generation capacity in 2018 was 5,000 MW and the industry expects a 27% growth. ”We expect an additional 800 to 1,200 to be installed. It will be a record year, ”he estimated.

To concretize these plants, the industry invested between 1,500 and 2,000 million dollars (mdd). “Not all the investment was made in this year, but once they start they will represent investments in that order of magnitude,” Rodríguez said.

Mexico is a regional pioneer in this energy source. The first Mexican and Latin American wind farm was built in 1994 in La Venta, Oaxaca, originally as a prototype project. It has seven 225 kilowatts wind turbines.

Currently, Mexico has 50 wind power plants according to data from the Ministry of Energy (Sener).

The businessman acknowledged that there have been delays in projects due to problems with communities surrounding the plants, particularly in a project of the second auction located in Oaxaca, although he stated that there has been progress, without detailing what type.

The Ministry of Energy (Sener), despite having canceled the electric auctions and other projects in the sector, has also offered help to the private sector to vent obstacles and problems with stopped projects.

“Yes there is support, the projects we see government support to move forward, but the issue is the projects that are coming. The Merida tables will be to understand what the rules of the game will be, sit down to agree on numbers, strategies and see how we add all the parts. In those we are ”, added the president of AMDEE.

For Rodríguez, the emergence of private electric auctions is intended to add demand and supply, that is, generation and consumption projects in a “sophisticated” way to establish bilateral contracts as permitted by Mexican law.

During June of this year, the companies Bravos Energía and Aklara have proposed an electric tender as a market alternative due to the cancellation of the fourth long-term auction by the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

“It is not a process that aims to replace the auctions organized by the government. It is a process that makes life easier for those who participate in contracts between private parties. We observe it with interest. It is a new possibility for the participants, ”he concluded.