Mexico Energizes Future With Storage, Solar, and EV Reforms

The electricity sector in Mexico has been a dynamic and controversial topic. By March 2025, a new legal framework for the electricity sector was published, abrogating the law of the federal electricity commission and converting CFE into a decentralized autonomous public agency of the Energy Ministry, simplified permits were established for the consumption of renewable energies between 0.7 MW y 20 MW. Significant investments were announced by CFE in generation, transmission, and distribution for the coming years, while for the secondary regulation the Energy Ministry will issue the regulations corresponding to the new laws.

Currently, the electricity sector has three very relevant topics: energy storage, electromobility, and electricity generation, with photovoltaic systems as the main protagonist. Last March, the General Administrative Provisions for the Integration of Electric Energy Storage Systems (SAE) to the national electric system (SEN) were published and came into force, seeking an efficient, safe and reliable integration. It made clear the key points of the regulation that equates in many aspects energy storage with energy generation by allowing the SAE to participate in the purchase and sale of energy as well as related services. The SAE will be able to offer auxiliary services to the SEN, such as frequency regulation and operating reserves, which contributes to the stability and reliability of the system, establishes the general requirements and the procedure to obtain the necessary permits for the integration of the SAEs in each of the modalities, as well as defines the procedure that the interested parties must follow for the interconnection or connection of their SAEs. An interesting point is that the regulation does not restrict specific storage technologies, opening the door to diverse solutions such as lithium-ion batteries, compressed air flow, among others. With all this, it is estimated that 8,412MW of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) could be incorporated into the SEN by 2038. 

With continuous growth and with a focus on the integration of storage projects, the generation of electricity through photovoltaic systems and the installed capacity of photovoltaic energy continue to increase, both at the level of large solar parks and distributed generation systems due to the enormous solar potential of Mexico. In March 2025, it was announced that new large-scale renewable energy projects would be required to include 30% of battery storage. This marks a turning point for the effective integration of solar energy into the electricity system, resulting in significant progress in the growth of photovoltaic projects with BESS. The new legal framework for the energy sector published in March establishes simplified permits for self-consumption of renewable energies between 0.7MW and 20MW, which could significantly boost distributed photovoltaic generation in that power range. The plan to strengthen and expand the national electricity system by 2030 contemplates the addition of photovoltaic energy by both CFE and private companies.

With respect to electromobility in Mexico, the most recent developments bring together a growing use of electric vehicles for private use, logistics, and public transportation in large cities (CDMX, Guadalajara, Monterrey). The main development relates to charging infrastructure, with the installation of public and private charging points. It is estimated that by 2030 there could be approximately 25,000 charging points in Mexico. The challenges are still great, however.considering that a comprehensive regulatory framework and incentive policies at the federal level that accelerate the transition to electromobility are still pending the publication of the National Strategy for Electric Mobility. This strategy will define the goals and guidelines for the sector, which should be aligned with storage agreements as that will be crucial for the management of electric vehicle charging and the stability of the network.

A clear regulatory framework for the integration of these technologies into the SEN, together with a renewed legal framework and a focus on public investment and renewable self-consumption, will drive development in the coming years, with benefits for the reliability of renewable energy integration and the optimization of energy consumption.