Mexico City’s Markets Save Thanks to Solar Energy: SEDECO
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Mexico City’s Markets Save Thanks to Solar Energy: SEDECO

Photo by:   MarcTran on Pixabay
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Cas Biekmann By Cas Biekmann | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Mon, 11/29/2021 - 17:46

The Ministry of Economic Development (SEDECO) of Mexico City reported that the city saved MX$68,000 (US$3,125) in two months as a result of the implementation of photovoltaic cells in seven markets.

Head of SEDECO Fadlala Akabani explained that the markets involved are San Antonio Tecomitl, San Pablo Oztotepec, San Pedro Atocpan, Gabriel Hernández, Progreso Nacional, San Felipe de and Villa Coapa market. Three of these markets are located in Milpa Alta, three more in Gustavo A. Madero and the remaining one in Tlalpan. The installations will reduce CO2 emissions in the pollution-stricken capital by 360,000 tons per year, which is the equivalent of planting 9,000 trees.

“The energy transition and sustainable development are fundamental for this administration. As of today, we count seven public markets that upgraded and opted to use photovoltaic panels for their operation,” said Akabani.

SEDECO’s ‘Institutional Action for the Promotion and Improvement of the Public Markets of Mexico City’ program involved a US$3,35 million investment. The ministry explained that the photovoltaic systems on each market produce 46,200W, 98 percent of their required power. “The predicted life of these systems is 25 years, so a return on investment is certain,” Akabani stated.

SEDECO’s program exemplifies the benefits of solar energy for commercial and industrial (C&I) activity, particularly in areas that do not consume massive amounts of energy. The current regulatory cap of distributed generation (DG)-based energy systems stands at 0.5MW, an amount that can seem limiting for heavy industrial companies looking to move to 100 percent renewable resources but is sufficient for smaller commercial centers and activities.

“I think DG will hit its predicted 5 percent of installed energy capacity sooner than expected by the government. Mexico’s conditions are perfectly aligned with this and investors entering the market will help this kind of energy take off even faster. Our own projected growth speaks volumes about where C&I-based DG is going,” said Santiago Villagómez, Co-Founder and CEO, Energía Real, in a recent MBN interview. “Additionally, the government’s policy appears to favor DG, even though items on the wish list, such as increasing DG’s unregulated cap size or community solar regulation, are still pending. Even if we do not see any of these items realized, DG will still be successful,” he continued.

Photo by:   MarcTran on Pixabay

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