Viva El Viento: Mexico Embracing Renewable Energy to Diversify Power Mix
Key Highlights
- - The EL 24 wind project in Tamaulipas received final generation permit approval, enabling progress toward commercial operation by 2028.
- - Mexico is considering new wind projects like Presa Nueva to accelerate renewable energy capacity, with renewables expected to comprise up to 45% of the country's electricity mix.
- - Mexico's focus on domestic renewable resources aims to reduce reliance on imported U.S. natural gas and increase clean energy generation.
Mexico’s federal renewable energy regulator Comisión Nacional de Energía has granted final generation permit approval for the 130-MW EL 24 wind Energy Project in the state of Tamaulipas.
Revolve Renewable Power Corp. is the developer and will operate the EL 24 wind farm, which also has made progress through interconnection approval. El 24 is one of our five nationwide wind projects so far approved by the Comisión Nacional de Energía (CNE).
“Securing the final generation permit for El 24 is a defining value-creation milestone,” said Revolve Renewable Power Corp. CEO Myke Clark in a statement. “This is the same stage of development where we have historically unlocked significant shareholder value, including with our Parker and Bouse solar projects that were sold to ENGIE. By systematically advancing El 24 through late stage permitting, we are executing a proven strategy that has delivered strong outcomes.”
More from EnergyTech on C&I Energy Moves in mexico
Both the Parker and Bouse solar and storage projects, totaling 1.25 GW of generation capacity, were developed and constructed in Arizona. In 2023, a subsidiary of French-based global energy firm ENGIE acquired the 240-MW Park and 1-GW Bouse sites.
Revolve Renewable Power hopes to bring the Mexico project to commercial operation by 2028. EL 24 is in a region of Tamaulipas with high-level wind resources and established transmission infrastructure.
The Mexican government and CNE also are considering new projects for accelerating wind power permitting processes, including the 400-MW Presa Nueva development by Revolve. The Presa Nueva is being sited in Nuevo León.
Mexican political and energy infrastructure leaders are increasingly working developing domestic power generation resources, considering that more than half of the nation’s utility-scale electricity was generated using natural gas imported from the United States.
Renewables account for nearly one-fourth of Mexico’s electricity mix. Reports indicate that portion could rise to 45% with more intensive wind, solar and battery storage installation, according to a report by Ember Energy.
In the U.S., meanwhile, the Trump Administration is cracking down on previous governmental support and incentives for renewable energies. Earlier this month, the federal Department of the Interior forced work stoppages on five ongoing offshore wind developments along the U.S. East Coast.
The Trump Administration cites national security concerns for its reasons in delaying and perhaps stopping the Revolution, Vineyard 1, Coastal Virginia, Sunrise and Empire offshore wind projects. Some of those were nearing completion and commercial operations by 2026.
Defenders of the U.S. offshore wind development, including Virginia-based utility Dominion Energy, noted that the projects were previously vetted and, in some cases, under planning for close to a decade. In the case of Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Dominion noted, several pilot-phase turbines have been operating for five years without causing detrimental security impacts.
About the Author
Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor
Managing Editor
For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].
Rod Walton has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.
Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World.
EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.