Financial Saving for Mid-Sized Companies

Sampol offers the industrial sector access to its broad experience in cogeneration, including in PC plants, financed and non-financed plants, and even operation and maintenance services. Rather than being recognized as one of the top international energy generation and distribution companies, this company wants to establish a presence in the mid segment, as medium- sized projects are in demand and easy to undertake.

Familiarization with a client’s process is a key aspect in Sampol’s services. Enrique Manzano, Sampol’s Director of Business Development Mexico, explains, “Knowing how to use these byproducts in the most advantageous ways in each sector is what sets our work apart,” he states. For instance, a data processing center in Canada might need a free cooling system to decrease the servers’ temperature. Years of working with data processing centers has given Sampol the knowledge necessary to take advantage of the environment to optimize consumption.

Sampol’s sales pitch is that if a customer uses gas and has a thermal consumption over 4MW, then they should be interested in building a cogeneration plant with a four year ROI. Every energy generation process uses fossil fuels, explains Manzano, and an engine or turbine is unlikely to surpass 25-27% efficiency levels. “If we add the losses of 6-9% during deployment, then it becomes evident that an industrial facility located in Mexico City and supplied with energy generated in another state will have an efficiency rate of 20%.” If a generation process that uses the same fossil fuel is established in the same place where the energy is consumed, the thermal byproduct is channeled, and losses from deployment are removed from the equation, meaning that efficiency levels can increase up to 70%.

The company’s most significant expertise lies in the meat, dairy, and mechanical sectors. At the moment, Sampol is working with a fruit transportation company, which uses large refrigeration facilities that have large thermal energy consumption levels. Sampol has also worked with a rubber manufacturer that makes components for vehicle tires. “Its energy consumption was so significant that it was not able to run its two presses simultaneously,” explains Manzano. The area where the plant was located did not have enough CFE coverage so the company could not increase the energy input, limiting its production levels. Sampol built a cogeneration plant for this customer, which enabled it to run both presses at the same time.

For Manzano, the most evident benefit cogeneration provides is optimization of prices. “Cogeneration and trigeneration processes transform energy that would otherwise be wasted, enabling users to obtain three different energy sources. This improves energy efficiency and reduces harm to the environment.” Manzano believes the reasons a company does not opt for cogeneration are entirely financial. “We have come across plenty of people who are aware of the costs of energy in Mexico but cannot afford to make a three year investment.” He claims this is also the case for other technologies such as PV and even combined cycles, a system that is becoming popular and is promoted by the government. “Mexico has plenty of natural resources for renewables, but money is definitely the obstacle.”

For Manzano, adequate financing is a matter of creating awareness among the banking sector. “Banks can acknowledge a business opportunity, but they never assume risks. Since banks use our money to finance projects, they should have more affordable schemes.” He believes it is crucial for Mexico to develop financial schemes and fiscal incentives like the ones found in other countries so that cogeneration can become widespread. “It is important for banks to see the authorities putting efforts into facilitating the financing of these energy projects. If the Mexican authorities manage to make the procedures simpler and foster these kinds of solutions, people could have a reliable, affordable source of energy,” he voices, and adds that the private sector could always help by creating awareness within the public sector so that granting permits and other procedures are expedited.

Manzano notices that Mexican clients are used to working directly with equipment manufacturers, an approach that rarely leads to optimal results, instead of working with integrators like Sampol. The company has warehouses with spare components from both domestic and international manufacturers, which is a more efficient option than dealing with manufacturers abroad, according to Manzano. “This is particularly important for Mexico, where I have noticed a lack of maintenance culture.” As an engineering firm, Sampol has a vast knowledge of the equipment available on the market, enabling the company to give its clients freedom of choice. “Although we have our preferred suppliers, this policy has worked well for us. That is why we continue to operate in this way. We have trade agreements with the main manufacturers, but we are flexible when a client has a specific request,” tells Manzano.