Enel Green Power Announces New Director General for Mexico

Enel Green Power, one of the largest private producers in the country through its portfolio of over 3GW, has appointed Bruno Riga as Director General for Mexico, a position he already held for Central America. Riga replaces Paolo Romanacci, whose tenure ran from 2016 until the end of 2020. Romanacci will assume a new position within Enel Global Power Generation. “These moves are in line with our constant innovation and leadership in a very dynamic sector and seek to contribute to the group’s goals according to its new strategy set for the year 2030,” the company said in a press release.

Riga’s goals in Mexico include the consolidation of Enel’s projects in operation, expanding the company’s commercial and service-based portfolio. In addition, the company seeks to collaborate with the main players in the sector and help the country achieve its ambitious clean energy goals, according to the PRODESEN plan, to reach 30 percent green energy sourcing by 2021 and 35 percent by 2024, according to the press release. Nevertheless, Riga will likely face a challenging environment, as President López Obrador and his government are adjusting the sails of the sector to rescue state-owned utility CFE.

“I am taking on this new position with great enthusiasm because some of the most important renewable energy projects in Latin America have been carried out in Mexico. The future of renewables is defining the world and I am pleased to be part of this change in a country with as much potential as Mexico,” Riga said.

In Mexico, the company reported that it is operating and constructing 19 projects in total, including 52.5MW in hydroelectric power, 1.308GW in solar energy and 1.645GW in wind energy, resulting in a total of 3.005GW.

Last year, Enel Green Power said it had finished installing its 274MW wind farm Dolores, located in Nuevo Leon, secured by the green giant in the third long-term energy auction. By contract, the US$290 million project’s offtaker is grid operator CENACE. Enel Green Power furthermore operates the Villanueva solar park and Amistad wind farm, two of the largest projects of this type in Mexico. In 2020, the company supplied wind and solar energy to the Heineken brewery via a power purchasing agreement (PPA) for 10 years. S&P Global reported that the contract stipulated Enel Green Power will provide 28.8 GWh of renewable energy annually to Heineken to run a brewery in Meoqui, Chihuahua. Heineken is committed to its energy transition, aiming for 100 percent renewable energy by 2030.