López Obrador, John Kerry Will Discuss Renewable Energy in Sonora

President López Obrador said that he will hold a meeting with John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate later this month. According to the president, the meeting will take place during his tour in the northern states of Baja California Sur, Sonora and Sinaloa, where he will attend issues related to the health sector.

López Obrador plans to take Kerry to visit Puerto Peñasco’s solar farm, a landmark public solar energy project still under construction, to discuss the Sonora Plan. With this plan, the government aims to replicate the Puerto Peñasco model elsewhere in Sonora, in areas with similarly strong solar radiation. "We want to replicate the Puerto Peñasco solar plant 4 or 5 times here in Sonora, with a natural gas-fired backup plant and transmission lines to Baja California as well as the border with the US," he said, adding that a plant to build lithium batteries was also on the table.

The construction of the solar farm in Puerto Peñasco began this year on a CFE-owned site of 837ha. The mammoth project has an investment of US$1.65 billion and will be developed in 4 phases, culminating in 2028. The first phases are expected to have an alternating current generation capacity of up to 457MW, with an annual electricity production of 1041.74GWh. CFE will own 54 percent of the power plant, and the Government of Sonora will possess the remaining 46 percent. 

Regarding the Sonora plan, Alfonso Durazo, Governor of Sonora, had previously commented that this strategy will boost the state to become a national reference point for clean energy production, which will allow not only to supply energy for the region but also to export it. "We will go from being net importers of energy to being exporters," he said in a Forbes interview last month. 

During his last visit to Mexico, John Kerry recognized the country’s great potential for renewable energy. "Mexico has natural gifts that allow it to produce an enormous amount of clean energy from solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric power sources," he said. Furthermore, Kerry highlighted Mexico’s commitment to attracting private foreign investment to accelerate the transition to renewable energy. Nonetheless, Mexico’s alleged violations of the USMCA based on its energy policy have triggered the worst trade dispute with the US in years. Experts are therefore keen to see if this upcoming visit manages to ease tensions between the two countries.