CFE Awards Historic Mixed Development Round

CFE awarded 7,411MW across 37 solar and wind projects, marking the first major deployment under the 2025 energy reform's public-private framework, requiring a minimum 54% state ownership stake. This massive private capital mobilization addresses critical grid deficits in high-demand industrial hubs like the Northeast and Yucatan Peninsula, alleviating power constraints for manufacturing nearshoring. However, independent power developers and financial institutions face an immediate, compressed timeline to secure project financing amid outstanding regulatory and bankability gaps regarding asset control and power purchase agreement preservation.

CFE announced on June 5 the results of its first Mixed Development Schemes tender, awarding 37 renewable energy projects totaling 7,411MW. This represented the most significant private capital mobilization in Mexico's electricity sector since the clean energy auctions of 2016–2018 and the first under the 2025 energy reform's public-private framework.

Of the 7,411 MW awarded, approximately 6,710MW correspond to photovoltaic projects and approximately 700MW to wind installations. Concentrated solar thermal technology received no awards in this first round. Forty-six projects were excluded from the process, and the Yucatan Peninsula and Northeast regions held 20 of the 37 selected projects.

Among the developers with the greatest presence in the selection, Cubico México stood out, obtaining four projects. Other companies include Thermion Energy, Eléctrica Aselco, Atlantica Renewable Power, Solarig, Oak Creek Energy Solutions, Elawan Energy, Fisterra Energy, and Freeman Energy.

Arturo Carranza, Director of Energy Projects, Akza Advisors, had identified developers with more advanced permits, grid access, and financial structuring as having a decisive advantage, specifically naming AES México, Atlas Renewable Energy, Invenergy, and Cubico among the best positioned. The final winners are, with few exceptions, companies with prior operating history in Mexico or established relationships with Mexican financial institutions.

Several developers that participated in this call had already been awarded in the December 2025 private sector process that allocated 3.3GW of clean capacity and 1.2GW of battery storage, including Gemex, Dhamma Energy, Revolve Renewable Power, Solarig, and Alten. Their dual presence across both processes signals that Mexico's renewable energy market is consolidating around a core group of technically and financially qualified developers capable of navigating both the private permit track and the more complex mixed investment structure.

The awarded projects will be developed under the Mixed Investment modality, in which CFE maintains a minimum 54% stake and contributes assets in proportion to its participation. The scheme operates under private law with reference contract models predefined by CFE, with CFE's Board of Directors retaining final approval authority over project viability. Direct award is permitted when a private party holds title over essential project assets, including permits, land, principal equipment, or patents, a provision that explains why project maturity was such a decisive factor in the evaluation.

High Interest in the Process

The 7,411MW awarded represents essentially the full 7,500MW target the Sheinbaum administration set for this first round. But the pipeline that competed for those slots vastly exceeded expectations. The call received 222 proposals totaling approximately 38GW, 581% more capacity than was being offered, from around 80 developer companies. Solar dominated with 178 photovoltaic parks totaling 26,494MW, followed by wind with 34 projects for 9,324MW, nine hybrid projects totaling 1,032MW, and one hydroelectric pumped storage project of 900MW.

The surplus of qualified interest has direct implications for what comes next. Jorge Marcial Islas Samperio, SENER's Deputy Minister of Energy Planning and Transition, stated: "We will need only one more call to cover the approximately 16,500MW of renewable energy we need in this administration." A second private-sector call, separate from the mixed schemes, is being prepared for launch in June, covering the approximately 3GW of capacity that went unallocated in the December 2025 permit process.

Contracts stemming from this tender are scheduled to be signed starting June 19, with construction mobilization targeted for November 2026 and commercial operation between 2028 and 2029. That timeline requires MISSE social impact permits, interconnection agreements, EPC contracting, and project financing to be completed in parallel over a period of roughly five months.

Bancomext's Energy Finance Director Gleb Kouznetsov had flagged three structural gaps that create uncertainty for project lenders, however: the absence of mechanics for direct agreements leaving banks without explicit rights over physical assets; legal ambiguity around contract breaches and PPA preservation rights; and the risk that generation and regulatory permits revert to CFE rather than remaining tied to the asset or accessible to creditors. Whether CFE resolves those bankability concerns in the contract negotiation process between now and June 19 will determine how quickly project finance can close behind the awarded contracts.