PV Panel Plant Opens Its Doors; CFE Restarts Huexca Construction

Solarever’s opening of a new photovoltaic panel manufacturing plant, the largest in Latin America, is among this week’s top headlines. Other important Mexican news include the soon-to-be concluded construction of CFE’s Huexca power plant. Furthermore, Chinese player SPIC has acquired Mexico’s Zuma Energía, while Finsolar raised significant financing. Internationally, Enel readied a colossal investment plan and Iberdrola aims to be a key player in European green hydrogen.

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Mexico

Huexca Plant Restarts Construction Following Environmental Issues

The construction of the combined cycle power plant located in the Huexca community in Morelos re-initiated this week, CFE reported. Construction has entered its final phase and work is expected to conclude in 10 to 15 days, El Financiero reported. The Huexca plant has faced juridical struggles since its inception in 2011, due to water pollution problems that led locals to stop its construction. Nevertheless, President López Obrador fast-tracked the project in September, promising to bring it online by the end of 2020 and solve the environmental concerns associated with the project.

Solarever Opens Largest Latin American Solar Panel Manufacturing Plant in Colima

The Mexican company Solarever inaugurated Latin America’s largest solar panel manufacturing plant in Tecoman, Colima with Chinese investment totaling US$20 million, including the financing of two other projects in Hidalgo and Guanajuato.

Solarever has been investing around US$250 million in Mexico during the past decade. With the Colima plant, the company has now a total of three plants in Mexico, considered some of the largest in the country and in Latin America, reported Forbes.

Chinese Energy Player Acquires Mexico's Zuma Energía

The Chinese energy giant State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has acquired Mexico’s Zuma Energía, the largest private renewable energy producer in the country, with the aim to gain a stronger foothold in Latin America, reported Bloomberg News.

The deal with Zuma Energía helps SPIC meet its 2020 goal of having 8GW of power generation capacity abroad. As of March, it had 5.21GW installed outside of China, with further projects under construction representing 1.47GW.

Finsolar Raises US$2.5 Million

Finsolar, a financing company focused on distributed generation projects for companies, raised US$2.5 million in its Series A round through a Mexican company and a Silicon Valley investor, reported Energía a Debate. Series A financing rounds are aimed at assuming risks associated with scaling the business and increasing its positioning and relevance in the market. The news is significant, as Finsolar is a new player in the market. Read our recent interview with CEO Ian De La Garza here.

International

Enel Presents US$190 Billion Investment Plan

Enel, the largest energy utility in Europe, has readied its investment plan with a whopping US$190 billion to meet growing clean energy demand worldwide, reported Bloomberg News. With the massive investment, Enel hopes to consolidate its strong position as a utility and beat oil companies that, with their increasing forays into renewable energy, are proving to be stiff competition.

Iberdrola Vies for Green Hydrogen Authority in Europe

The energy aims to provide 800MW of green hydrogen production to produce ammonia. Iberdrola will spend US$119 million on a 20MW electrolyzer for Fertiberia. The two companies reported a partnership spending US$2.1 billion to build the 800MW capacity in Spain within the next seven years, GreenTech Media reported.