Legacy Projects Done Right

Mexico’s market for distributed generation and utility scale is in the midst of a boom, and Grupo DESMEX’s solar project in Silao, Guanajuato, is a prime example of the segment’s success.

The construction of the 6ha solar park began in July 2016, with the operation of its solar modules starting in October 2017. For the park, Grupo DESMEX installed premium German quality SOL 278 GT solar panels, from the manufacturer Solarnova, which is also part of Grupo DESMEX. During its first 25-30 years of life, the project will generate enough clean energy to avoid the emission of 99,993 tons of CO2 per year, which is equivalent to planting 1,515,056 trees.
Grupo DESMEX took charge of the entirety of the project, from handling the permits to securing the terrain, attracting investors, managing the financing, drawing the clients that will buy the generated electricity and developing the EPC activities. In other words,

Grupo DESMEX took care of the whole engineering, design, procurement and installation activities with its certified workforce, which includes 250 collaborators allocated to 24 sales points across the country.
Now that the project is ready, Grupo DESMEX will also conduct the O&M activities. Although taking full responsibility for a project like this could be difficult for just one company, Grupo DESMEX has the required expertise in Mexico. Its experience includes 10 years in the market in which it has installed over 7,000 photovoltaic systems across all sectors, including residential, commercial, industrial, agrarian and governmental. 

The project will generate a total of 7,500MWh of clean energy per year that will be sold to two public entities for public lighting and to a private company under the commercial tariff. The biggest challenge for Grupo DESMEX was the provision in the new Energy Industry Law (LIE) that states that legacy permits must be aligned with the new regulations. Before the implementation of the new law, permits were worked out between CRE, CFE and the permit holder. After the implementation of the LIE, everything must go through CENACE and some of the procedures, characteristics and technical aspects were unclear. Still, Grupo DESMEX finished the project in a record time of 15 months, making the company one of the first to finish a legacy project and interconnect it under the LIE regulation.

Taking what it learned on the Silao project, Grupo DESMEX is now working on a new legacy project totaling 30MW and located in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua