Mexico: 22.5 MW solar park comes online in Coahuila

Macquarie Mexican Infrastructure Fund (MMIF), a fund owned by the Australian investment bank Macquarie, announced in a filing with the Mexican Stock Exchange that the Parque Solar Coahuila PV plant is now operational.

The solar park, which has a capacity of 22.5 MW and is located near the town of Matamoros, was built thanks to an investment of 758 million MXN ($42.4 milllion).

According to MMIF, Mexico’s power utility Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) granted commercial operation to the solar plant in July, “the first month in which the self-supply will be invoiced.” The plant is selling power to the government of the state of Coahuila and to the municipalities of Matamoros and Torreón through a 15-year PPA, which could eventually be extended for another 5 years. The installation will also supply power to a Mexican corporation under a 7-year PPA with a 3-year extension option.

The construction of the plant was announced in October 2014. According to a press release issued at the time by the state government, the power provided by the facility is 15% cheaper than the price paid by the municipalities of Matamoros and Torreon to the CFE. The project, which was acquired by MMIF in August 2016, will allow these two entities to save around 1.7 million MXN per year.

A similar project was commissioned in Coahuila in early June. It is the Los Santos I solar plant, which is located near the Chihuahua highway in Ciudad Juárez. This project is also providing power to several public entities and to facilities of German cable maker Leoni under a long-term PPA.