Mexico

After two decades of growth, the amount of newly installed renewable energy capacity is no longer rising and, despite a 7% growth in electricity generation from clean energy sources, global energy-related carbon emissions have risen 1.7%.

Located in the town of La Paz, in Baja California Sur, the Aura Solar III plant has a generation capacity of 32 MW and includes a lithium-ion battery storage system with a capacity of 10.5 MW/7.0 MWh.

The energy program will initially relate to combined cycle gas power plants with a capacity of 2.76 GW. No mention was made in electric utility CFE’s official statement of the possibility of increasing capacity by harnessing renewables.

The world had more than half a terawatt of PV generation capacity at the end of last year as emerging solar markets picked up the slack caused by Beijing’s subsidy about-turn to the tune of a 20% rise in installations outside China.

The Japanese gas provider has acquired a 50% interest in four Mexican PV projects with a combined capacity of 746 MW. The new joint venture will further develop solar and renewables across the country.

The announcement was given by Manuel Bartlett, the general director of state-owned utility CFE. He also said the current prices of renewables are a lie, while also stressing that their development is a factor determining higher electricity prices.

The first Solar Power Mexico exhibition was a success, despite being held just weeks after the Mexican government announced the cancellation of its fourth long-term energy auction for renewables, along with general policy-related uncertainty for clean energy.

Things are hotting up in the tracker world as the desire to squeeze down the price per Watt of solar power intensifies. And the rise of the trackers is attracting some well-known businesses to buy their way into the field.

CFE boss Manuel Bartlett has again stated the national utility will not buy electricity from private companies as it can generate power itself. It is unclear whether CFE intends to develop solar assets.

While solar is lauded as a cheap energy resource in OECD countries, the cost of financing PV projects in developing nations has impeded progress. Development banks and the Clean Technology Fund they finance have played a key role in providing access to cheap financing for clean energy projects in many markets.