Q: What does the Mexican market represent within Risen Energy's global business strategy? 

TC: Mexico is part of our Latin America market strategy. The entire region is one of our most important markets, so Risen Energy has allocated a great deal of investment to product development and research for Latin America. The particularities of the Latin American market allow Risen to sell specific modules that we do not sell in other markets. Brazil and Colombia are among our other main markets within the region. We entered the Mexican market in 2015, intending to develop solar utility-scale projects. Due to the shift in Mexico’s energy policy, the company has adapted and focused its core business here on Distributed Generation (DG). 

Q: How has the operation of the Canatlan solar park in Durango and Risen’s solar park in Guanajuato evolved over the past two years?

EV: Canatlan is running on wheels. However, our project in Guanajuato has been stopped due to permitting issues, which have become remarkably complicated in recent years. We see the current slowdown in renewable utility-scale development as a temporary problem and are employing all our legal resources to make the Guanajuato project happen. We know this situation is shared by 90 percent of our fellow utility-scale project developers, which are ready to operate but held back by the lack of permits. The company trusts that its plant in Guanajuato will work out. We need to remain patient regarding utility-scale projects and instead focus on DG project development for the time being.

Q: How has Mexico’s energy policy shift impacted Risen’s participation in new project developments?

EV: As a company, we are not only manufacturers. Risen also has an EPC division centered on project development that started with the objective to focus on utility scale. We want to be respectful of the political situation in Mexico. Our strategy has included working closely with the Mexican Solar Association (ASOLMEX), following their lead and pushing the solar agenda as a united front with the aim of achieving better agreements and closer collaboration with the government. Recent policy changes have forced the company to become more creative and find new strategies to develop its business. One of the paths we took in this adaptation was to change our strategy toward DG. Risen is deeply interested in staying in the Mexican market for the long term. Therefore, we will continue to improve ourselves to consolidate our position. 

Q: How have supply chain disruptions affected Risen Energy and how has the company adapted to overcome such challenges? 

TC: Risen’s production is vertically integrated, meaning it produces the raw materials necessary for its own production. However, supply chain disruptions are a global issue, leading to problems for every single company in the market.

EV: To tackle supply chain disruptions during the pandemic, Risen Energy implemented three strategies. The first focused on raw materials and vertical integration. We worked on expanding our raw materials inventory to maintain our capacity to manufacture solar panels. This helped remain one of the most price-stable companies in the market. The second strategy entailed swapping some materials for other components. We went from working only with aluminum to integrating steel into our module frames because steel prices are more stable than aluminum. We are aware that prices will keep rising due to global inflation but we intend to avoid peaks and remain as stable as possible. The company’s third strategy was to create agreements with shipping companies in specific ports and settle prices, such as at Mexico’s Lazaro Cardenas and Manzanillo ports. This helped prevent the module’s final cost from fluctuating.

Q: What financing solutions does Risen provide to its clients when acting as an EPC?

EV: For its project financing strategy, Risen Energy seeks different channels to spread its solutions and opportunities to potential clients. Our first strategy is to keep our production costs as stable as possible, as this helps us to avoid budget updates with our clients throughout the project’s implementation. We also agree with our distributors on a credit line, so they can have a better cash flow forecast and smoother transactions between production and distribution. 

Q: How have Risen’s Operations and Maintenance (O&M) services grown in the face of the lack of new project development in Mexico?

TC: Risen prioritizes its research. We are constantly investing a large amount of capital into our R&D division to innovate our products and improve our panels' efficiency. The solar industry has reached a point where innovation is no longer a matter of size or space. Improvements to panel efficiency will come from new technology incorporated into the solution. We will be launching new technology in 2023. For now, these products might have a higher price. However, in the long term, these solar panels will have better efficiency, making them cheaper in the end. Because we are vertically integrated and in charge of our technology development and manufacturing, the best option for our clients is to choose Risen as their assets’ operator because we have a better capacity to maintain our own products and fix them properly. 

The fact that Risen is a consolidated company that will be around in the future encourages our clients to seek out our O&M services. With the strong competition that is occurring in the solar market, certainty for long-term partnerships is a competitive advantage. Many new competitors do not last long in the market, so having a reliable partner like Risen becomes essential because solar assets last at least 25 years. 

Q: How has Risen’s battery storage business line performed?

EV: Battery storage is Risen’s newest business line. However, it is not yet available in the Latin American market. We have launched this new division in Asia and are waiting for both the product and the market to be ready to launch in Latin America. Right now, countries in Latin America are not mature enough for storage to be commercially viable at the levels Risen needs for its business model to be successful. We are taking small steps and there is no push from the company’s headquarters to massively develop the storage market in the region. It is a matter of patience for Risen to expand this new division here.

Risen Energy is a China-based PV company founded in 1986. It develops, manufactures and sells Tier 1 solar panels but also develops solar projects from the greenfield stage up to completion.