Mexico to kick-off first private renewables auction this week
Although it is unclear how much generation capacity will be contracted, several projects submitted for the subsequently cancelled fourth government renewables auction may participate in Thursday’s procurement. ‘Qualified users’ – energy consumers needing more than 1 MW of power and without access to regulated power supply from national utility CFE – are expected to be among the buyers at the exercise.
Mexico reaches 4 GW milestone
Of the nation’s installed operational PV capacity, 3,364 MW is in the form of solar parks while distributed generation contributes around 693 MW.
Canadian Solar suffers $129m reversal in quarterly fortunes
With figures at the end of last year boosted by profitable PV project sales, the manufacturer and developer is now nursing unflattering comparisons and aims to get more projects built and sold by the end of next month.
PV leads the way as renewables threaten coal-fired power
With clean energy being generated at lower and lower prices around the world, solar power is playing a leading role in bringing the curtain down on coal, and will help the decarbonization of transport and space heating too.
Another solar PPA signed in Mexico
Zodiac Aerospace Equipo de Mexico has agreed to buy solar power from a 13 MW slice of the 80 MW Los Santos Solar II project in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
Protectionist measures working as Chinese export destinations shift
While the world’s biggest solar manufacturers are confident there are plenty of alternative markets for a rising volume of panel exports, the message spelled out by first-quarter shipment figures is that protectionism works.
IEA warning against stagnation of renewables
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%.
Region’s first utility scale solar-plus-storage project comes online in Mexico
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.
Mexico announces plans for 13 GW of new generation capacity – but no renewables in sight
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.
