Mexico Has the Potential to Detonate Solar Energy: ASOLMEX
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Mexico Has the Potential to Detonate Solar Energy: ASOLMEX

Photo by:   American Public Power Association - Unsplash
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Eliza Galeana By Eliza Galeana | Junior Journalist & Industry Analyst - Fri, 09/09/2022 - 17:26

To reach its clean energy goal set for 2030, Mexico requires new investments equivalent to US$13 billion in large-scale solar projects. By the end of this decade, experts predict that the installed solar capacity can reach up to 15,040MW. Because the current installed capacity stands at 6,488MW, this equals an increase of 8,552MW in the next 8 years.

Nelson Delgado, Director, the Mexican Association of Solar Energy (ASOLMEX), said that accomplishing this goal is possible, as Mexico has the resources and technology to do so. However, a plan to detonate these projects remains pending.

“While studies are saying that Mexico could have more or less 800 times the current capacity of the energy matrix powered solely by solar electricity, other recent studies developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory consider numbers that are practically impossible to scale. These studies project more than 24TW of installed capacity as theoretical potential in the country,”  said Delgado at the Intersolar 2022 forum.

Delgado furthermore highlighted the accelerated growth of solar energy. From 2017 to date, solar installed capacity has increased by almost 37 times, owing to the industry boost of the 2014 Energy Reform.

Mexico has abundant resources for solar energy given that 85 percent of the country has optimal solar radiation. is in optimal conditions of irradiation. This advantage, coupled with the significant reduction in the Levelized Cost of Energy in the past decade, has allowed solar development to soar.

Mexico has 67 utility-scale solar power plants in 16 states. According to ASOLMEX, Aguascalientes and Bajio are the most attractive areas to invest in photovoltaic energy. Solar roofs have an installed capacity of 818MW, distributed across 112,660 contracts for residential, commercial and industrial users. The solar industry attracts significant investment and creates more than 64,000 jobs along the value chain.

On an international scale, investments in the energy transition for clean energy reached US$7.5 billion in 2021, an increase of 27 percent compared to the previous year. In addition, the ten countries with the highest investments in this area, which are China, the US, Germany, the UK, France, Japan, India, South Korea, Brazil and Spain, accounted for 74 percent of the total global investments in the energy transition. Mexico occupied 77th place on the global ranking.

Photo by:   American Public Power Association - Unsplash
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