Asolmex Brings the Photovoltaic Sector Together Mexico is poised to be part of the next solar photovoltaic boom in Latin America. The country is expected to lead the region in PV energy growth steered in large part by the policies of the Energy Reform. Mexico’s solar resources, a growing middle class and high energy prices add to the potential for such a market. The on-grid photovoltaic projects represent proportionally the fastest-growing systems driven by the fact that Mexico is one of the top five most attractive countries in the world for PV solar power projects and that technology costs for solar panels have dropped. This year, the photovoltaic sector became a reality with the opening of Mexico’s first solar park, Aura Solar I. The rapid growth of the industry is reflected in the 36 large-scale solar photovoltaic projects under construction or in advanced development. The creation of Asolmex reflects the importance and growth of the industry.
LatinAmerican Post - Costa Rica Uses 100% Clean Energy to Generate Power This Year Clean energy sources have been used to generate 100 percent of the electricity this year in Costa Rica, the state-owned Costa Rican Electricity Institute, or ICE, said. “The year 2015 has been one of electricity totally friendly to the environment for Costa Rica. According to National Electric System figures, during January, February and so far in March (75 days), it has not been necessary to use hydrocarbons to supply the country’s grid,” the ICE said in a statement. Favorable rain conditions at four of the main hydroelectric power plants have helped generation, the ICE said. “With these conditions and the reserves accumulated to date, the ICE estimates that the downward trend in rates for all consumers will continue in the second quarter,” the power agency said. Costa Rica ranks No. 2 in Latin America, trailing only Uruguay, in providing electric service with a household coverage rate of 99.4 percent, according to the most recent World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index.
Convert Italia to supply axial trackers for 100 MW PV plant in Chile,: pv-magazine 20. February 2015 | | By: Convert Italia Italian company leader won an important committee to supply 97 MW solar axial trackers. Convert Italia SpA, Italian company leader in renewable energy field for more than 30 years, won an important committee to supply 97 MW solar axial trackers (TRJ TK*) for the Carrera Pinto PV (photovoltaic) plant in the region of Atacama in Chile. The project will be completed by the end of 2015 by general contractor Progetti International from Gruppo Merloni. Its capacity will be one of the largest in the world among PV plants built with axial tracking technology. “This plant – says Giuseppe Moro, CEO and founder of Convert Italia Spa – values the efforts of Convert in the South American market. “PV market – explains Giuseppe Moro – is growing particularly fast in Chile.Two years ago the installed power could not reach 4MW and 70MW were under construction.
Analysis: Mexico aims to triple wind capacity While the country's sector is already on the road to meeting around a third of that target, it is nevertheless widely viewed as too ambitious. The announcement comes on the heels of a record year of wind development in Mexico, with more than 1GW of new capacity installed in 2014, and the cumulative total reaching nearly 2.6GW, according to Mexican Wind Energy Association Amdee. A further 732MW is currently under construction, with over 3GW in the pipeline. But "given ongoing regulation uncertainty in Mexico, we don't see more than 4GW of new capacity as likely to 2018," said Make Consulting analyst Brian Gaylord. Energy minister Pedro Joaquin Coldwell revealed the wind-energy investment plan on 12 January before Amdee and other power sector players. Rather, it represents a compilation of the government's ongoing work to flesh out specific policy measures of its electricity reform law of December 2013. Spanish utility Iberdrola claims to be the country's biggest power provider.
Costa Rica powered 100% by renewables so far this year: pv-magazine 25. March 2015 | Global PV markets, Markets & Trends, Applications & Installations | By: Blanca Díaz López The Central American nation has not had to use fossil fuel power plants to produce electricity from January through March, due mainly to hydropower. Among the ICE's hydroelctric dams in Costa Rica is the Cachi plant in Cartago. Equesgo16 wikimedia commons Renewable energy covered 100% of Costa Rica's electricity mix in the first 75 days of this year, acording to a release by public electricity company Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE). The increase of rain and the resulting well-filled state of the country's four main reservoirs led to an increase in hydropower electricity generation. In 2013, renewable energy accounted for about 88% of Costa Rica's electricity mix, including total capacity of 2,731.2 MW and 10,136.1 gigawatt hours of generation.
Etrion: 138 MW in development in Chile, Japan: pv-magazine 19. March 2015 | Global PV markets, Industry & Suppliers, Applications & Installations, Financial & Legal Affairs, Markets & Trends, Investor news | By: Edgar Meza The Swiss company, which recently completed its majority owned 70 MW Salvador solar park in Chile, posted a 60% increase in net losses last year as revenue fell 8%. Etrion's 70 MW Salvador PV park, which became fully operation in January, produces more than 200 million kilowatt hours a year. SunPower Swiss solar power producer Etrion, the company behind the recently completed 70 MW Salvador solar park in Chile, posted annual revenue of $49.6 million from 17 solar power plants in Italy. The company’s net loss for the year rose to $16.5 million from $10.3 million in 2013. Etrion attributed the net loss to financing costs, lower solar irradiation and a decrease in the spot market price in Italy compared to 2013. Despite the higher net loss, Etrion CEO Marco A. Projects in the pipeline
Mainstream and Actis go to court over Chile tender To meet the demand, Aela was planning to invest $860 million over the next three years to build five new wind farms in Chile: Sarco (150MW), Alena (44MW), San Manuel (26MW), Cuel (33MW) and Aurora (84MW). The 15-year contracts were come into force from 2018. However, although Aela submitted the lowest tariffs, its bids were disqualified over an administrative error (the documents were presented under the brand name Aela Energia rather than the legal nomenclature of Aela Negrete). In the injunction presented before the Santiago Courtof Appeals earlier this month, Aela's lawyers accused the official responsible for the tender, Francisco Sanchez, of "illegal and arbitrary" action and exceeding the powers granted to him under the tender rules. With Aela disqualified from the race, the contracts were picked up by French energy giant EDF, which is planning to build a 1,140MW gas-fired combined cycle plant in southern Chile.
La caída del petróleo Hasta antes de la crisis petrolífera, la Reforma Energética, impulsada por el presidente de la República, Enrique Peña Nieto, era vista como el billete de lotería, correspondiente al premio mayor. La dramática caída de los precios del petróleo tiene al borde del desquicio a las empresas de la industria energética y según los expertos los bancos son las victimas inmediatas; mientras el gobierno mexicano comenzó sus ajustes financieros ante la gravedad de la situación y la mamá de las Reformas Estructurales, está en riesgo. En días pasados el precio de la Mezcla Mexicana de exportación cerró por debajo de los 40 dólares por barril, una escenario que pone en riesgo la transformación de México, pues las inversiones extranjeras que se habían pronosticado podrían detenerse ante el desequilibrio del producto no renovable más demandado en el mundo entero. “De repente los mexicanos actuamos como el señor que compra un billete de lotería y le dijeron: - Oiga este es el premiado; y lo compró.
Energías renovables: Asociación Mexicana de Energía Eólica destaca incertidumbres | REVE – Revista Eólica y del Vehículo Eléctrico Al cierre del 2014, operarán 31 parques eólicos en México con una capacidad eólica instalada que suma 2.551 megavatios, un 33 por ciento mayor a la alcanzada hasta el término del 2013. Con la reforma energética y la transición de la Ley de la Industria Eléctrica, la implantación de inversión en nuevos proyectos eólicos de generación eléctrica con viento se pone en riesgo, advirtió Adrián Escofet, presidente de la Asociación Mexicana de Energía Eólica (Amdee). Si bien la Amdee tiene registrados 6.110 megavatios de capacidad eólica en desarrollo, la incertidumbre regulatoria podría rezagar la oportunidad su ejecución. “En especial se aprecia una ralentización en los años 2015 y 2016″, anticipó Escofet, “existe una percepción de riesgo en el desarrollo de nuevos proyectos de Productores Independientes de Energía por parte de la CFE en el corto plazo”. Además, esta situación se podría dar de igual manera o en mayor magnitud con los proyectos de energía solar, planteó Escofet.
Green light for 37MW Mexico PV project — Solar Project Development & Finance Tour: Mexico According to the Mexican business newspaper, El Economista, the Mexican unit of solar developer, Dhamma Energy, received final approval from the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources. The project will be built in San Luis de la Paz, Guanajuato state. The 84-hectare solar development will generate a predicted 82GWh of power a year, creating 300 construction jobs. It will use Dhamma Energy equity and long-term loans for MXN1.1 billion (US$77 million) in finance. The project was awarded a preliminary environmental permit in September for 113,400 crystalline silicon modules to be installed on single-axis solar trackers. Construction is now to begin in the first half of 2015. Article source: PV Tech
Energy independence: La Paz, Mexico to meet 100% of electricity demand through solar — Solar Project Development & Finance Tour: Mexico In early December, officials from Grupotec and the Mexican government laid the foundation stone for a new solar PV project near La Paz at the southern end of Baja California. The Grupotec 1 will represent an investment of US$80 million, and feature 97,000 solar PV modules on an area of 44 hectares. The project will also incorporate an 11 MW battery storage system. Present at the groundbreaking were officials from Mexican national utility CFE, with which the project has a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) through the Small Power Producer Program. This means that the project will operate on a basis similar to merchant power projects, despite holding a power purchase agreement. Grupotec expects the plant to meet 40-42% of the electricity needs of La Paz, a city of 215,000 persons and the capital of Baja California Sur. Article Source: PV-Magazine
Segob alerta que contratos mineros ponen en riesgo a pueblos indígenas CIUDAD DE MÉXICO, 19 de enero.- En los últimos 17 años, los gobiernos de Ernesto Zedillo, Vicente Fox y Felipe Calderón han concesionado una extensión equivalente a la mitad del territorio del país en proyectos a mineras extranjeras, en perjuicio de las comunidades rurales, principalmente de los pueblos indígenas, sostiene el Estudio de la minería en México, elaborado por la Comisión para el Diálogo con los Pueblos Indígenas, de la Secretaria de Gobernación. “Desde 1993 (año en que comenzaron las negociaciones para la apertura comercial del país) hasta finales del 2012 (última cifra publicada) se han otorgado 43 mil 675 concesiones mineras que representa una superficie territorial de 95 millones, 765 mil 800 hectáreas; lo que significa casi la mitad del país”, dice el estudio de la dependencia del gobierno federal. No obstante, de dichas concesiones, sólo la tercera parte está vigente. Presión en zonas indígenas Entrega de permisos Peor que en la Colonia Empeñado, 97% de su territorio
REVE – Revista Eólica y del Vehículo Eléctrico | Asociación Empresarial Eólica El Gobernador José Calzada entrega equipo fotovoltaico en el municipio de Cadereyta de Montes El Gobernador del Estado, José Calzada Rovirosa, acompañado por su esposa, la Presidenta del Patronato del Sistema Estatal DIF, Sandra Albarrán de Calzada, entregó equipo fotovoltaico para que familias en comunidades de Cadereyta de Montes, tengan luz en sus hogares. Desde la comunidad Puerto de Salitre, el Mandatario queretano destacó la forma en que la política social de su administración, ha permitido transformar la vida de las familias. “En cuanto a energía eléctrica tenemos una cobertura al día de hoy de 98.7 por ciento. Con estos paneles solares vamos a incrementar en 0.3 por ciento, es decir, vamos a llegar al 99 por ciento de cobertura; 3 mil paneles solares con una inversión de 6 millones de pesos con 12 mil beneficiarios, ese es el impacto que tienen estas inversiones”. Asimismo precisó: “en Piso Firme para Todos, ya nada más nos faltan los municipios de El Marqués y Corregidora, de hecho ya tenemos cobertura universal.