CFE and France to Improve Mexico’s Geothermal Energy

CFE and the French government have signed a cooperation agreement to develop geothermal energy and increase Mexico’s energy efficiency. The agreement will use resources from the French Study Funds and Assistance to the Private Sector (FASEP) to explore the use of binary cycle technology in Mexico.

The Mexican Center of Innovation in Geothermal Energy (CEMIEGEO) said Mexico is ranked fourth worldwide in geothermal installed capacity, amounting to 932MW. In addition, the country’s proven and probable geothermal reserves have increased its capacity to 1,362MW.

The French Ambassador to Mexico, Jean Perre Asvazadourian, and CFE’s Director, Manuel Barlett, signed a diplomatic note for the launch of the feasibility study for the implementation of binary cycle technology in CFE’s geothermal fields. The study is scheduled to begin in  2021 and it will last 18 months, reported Milenio.

In addition, CFE’s Corporate Director of Operations, Carlos Morales, and the Director of SUEZ, Bruno Hervert, signed an agreement between both companies. CFE explains that this agreement aims to promote the generation of electricity from renewable sources to grant better user conditions and to strengthen energy sovereignty, productivity, sustainable development and social equity in Mexico, reported Milenio.  

Rodrigo Osorio, General Director of Energy Agency at Puebla, said to MBN that to achieve social justice, the government must achieve universal electrification. Osorio said that a person without electricity reduces its daily opportunities for social growth. Because of this, geothermal and wind energies should receive greater investments. New projects would allow the government to comply with its responsibility of giving a dignified life to all Mexicans.

CFE and French Embassy announced they were pleased to cooperate in the Mexican energy sector and that these two agreements would be the beginning of various collaborations in the energy sector.

According to OPEC’s World Oil Outlook 2020, solar, wind and geothermal energies will outstrip growth of any other fuel type by 6.6 percent per year on average between 2019 and 2045, contributing 8.7 percent by 2045, reported MBN.

OPEC reports that government policies relating to energy, particularly from OECD nations, will become more rigorous towards 2045 due to the Paris Agreement, which promotes renewable energies and aims to limit global warming. However, Mexico’s outcomes will depend on the openness of the government to invest in renewable energies.

Since President López Obrador took office, Mexico’s energy policy has been unstable. The country has been accused of not complying with the Paris Agreement. This year, PEMEX was blamed of being the most polluting company in Latin America by emitting 1.67 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the world, reported MBN.