Wind power manages to suspend changes to clean certificates in Mexico

The renewable energy industry was able to permanently suspend the changes to the Clean Energy Certificates (CEL) imposed by the Ministry of Energy (Sener) at the end of October, so these modifications remained without force until the Judiciary resolves the amparo lawsuits that weigh on them.

“The Judicial Branch of the Federation decided to keep the modifications to the guidelines in general terms without effect, after noticing imminent and irreversible damages that said modifications implied. This means that the original design of the Clean Energy Certificates, in harmony with the rest of our legal system, will remain unchanged until the final resolution of the amparo lawsuits, ”said the Mexican Wind Energy Association (AMDEE) and the Association Mexicana de Energía Solar (Asolmex) in a joint press release.

The certificates were intended to serve as a boost to the generation of clean and renewable energies after the 2014 energy reform, because they were only going to be given to the newly created plants. But Sener’s changes allow the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to obtain them from its pre-reform plants.

The private electricity sector has expressed itself against these changes because its entry distorts the initial objective of the certificates.
“The precautionary measures in force put a stop to the effects caused by the modifications published on October 28: the violation of contractual stability, the destruction of the value of assets of renewable energy projects already in operation and the attempt to modify the law by administrative means to the detriment of investor confidence in our country, ”say the associations.

Now, the courts need to resolve the merits of the case in these amparo lawsuits, in addition to the remedies that the two parties can bring in once they give their sentence, which can take even years to resolve.