Solar power in Mexico

Mexico's solar potential

Solar power in Mexico has the potential to produce vast amounts of energy. 70% of the country has an insolation of greater than 4.5 kWh/m²/day. Using 15% efficient photovoltaics, a square 25 km (16 mi) on each side in the state of Chihuahua or the Sonoran Desert (0.01% of Mexico) could supply all of Mexico's electricity.[1]

Production

Concentrated solar power prospects for southwest United States and northern Mexico

Mexico already leads Latin America in solar energy production. Historically, the main applications of solar energy technologies in Mexico have been for non-electric active solar system applications for space heating, water heating and drying crops. As in most countries, wind power development preceded solar power initially, due to the lower installation cost.[2] Since solar power is not available during the night, and because wind power tends to be complementary to solar, a mix of both can be expected. Both require substantial storage to compensate for days with no wind and no sun. Batteries provide short term storage,[3] and pumped hydroelectricity provides longer term storage.[4]

Projects

A 46.8 MW photovoltaic project is under construction in Puerto Libertad, Sonora.[5] Originally planned to be 39 MW, the size was increased to allow generation of 106,728,000 kWh/year.[6]

A solar trough based 14 MW plant will use a combined cycle gas turbine of 478 MW[7] to provide electricity to the city of Agua Prieta, Sonora. The World Bank has financed this project with US$50 million.[8] A 450 MW concentrated photovoltaics plant is planned for Baja California.[9]

A 2012 law requires 35% of electricity from renewable resources by 2024 and carbon emission reductions of 50% below 2000 levels by 2050.[10][11][12] Combined with declining solar installation costs, it's estimated that the 2012 climate law will lead to 6 GW of solar capacity in Mexico by 2020.[13]

At the Solar Power Mexico conference, it was said that PV electricity and solar thermal will comprise up to 5% of Mexico's energy by 2030 and up to 10% by 2050.[14]

At a clean source auction in 2016, solar won 1,860 MW at an average price of $50.7 per MWh (ranging between $35 and $67). The production is expected to be 4 TWh per year. Other sources such as gas, hydro and geothermal received no awards, and wind power won a smaller share than solar.[15]

Statistics

Source: WilsonCenter.org – Solar Energy Potential (PDF)[16]
Installed PV capacity (in MW)
Year
End		 Total
Capacity		 Yearly
Installation
200115.01.1
200216.21.2
200317.10.9
200418.21.1
200518.70.5
200619.71.0
200720.71.0
200821.71.0
200925.03.3
201030.65.6
201140.19.5
201252.412
201311260
201417664
2015282106
Source: from the IEA-PVPS. Figures from 2001–2013,[17] and for 2014[18] 2015[19] Yearly Installation figures from 2015 based on historical table data and differs slightly from report data.
50
100
150
200
250
300
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
Total Capacity – Cumulative installed PV capacity in MW since 2001

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sunny Mexico: An Energy Opportunity
  2. ↑ Is Solar Power Cheaper Than Wind?
  3. ↑ Smarter Energy Storage For Solar And Wind Power
  4. ↑ Chu calls for hydro storage to conserve clean energy
  5. ↑ Mexico photovoltaic project to sell electricity to CFE
  6. ↑ Sonora Energy to Build 39 MW Solar Project in Mexico
  7. ↑ Agua Prieta II
  8. ↑ "Cumulative and Newly-Installed Solar Photovoltaics Capacity in Ten Leading Countries and the World, 2009". Earth Policy Institute. 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2010-09-22.
  9. ↑ First 50 Megawatts of Large Solar Power Plant in Baja California
  10. ↑ Mexico Emulates Neighbor California With 35% Clean Climate Law
  11. ↑ Mexican Renewable Energy Market Set to Soar in 2013
  12. ↑ Christina McCain (2012-07-16). "Mexico's historic climate law: an analysis". Environmental Defense Fund. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  13. ↑ Lucy Woods (2013-12-19). "Mexico to quadruple solar growth in 2014: GTM". PV-Tech.org. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  14. ↑ "Solar Power Mexico 2012: The Only Event Uniting the Rapidly Expanding Mexican Solar Industry". Solar Power Mexico.
  15. ↑ Mohit Anand (5 April 2016). "Solar Stuns in Mexico's First Clean Energy Auction: 1,860MW Won at $50.7 per MWh". Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  16. ↑ "Solar Energy Potential in Mexico's Northern Border States" (PDF). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  17. ↑ "Snapshot of Global PV 1992-2014" (PDF). http://www.iea-pvps.org/index.php?id=32. International Energy Agency — Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme. 30 March 2015. p. 15. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  18. ↑ "Snapshot of Global Photovoltaic Markets 2015".
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