Sonora Plan Advances With US$16 Billion Investment

Sonora is making strides toward becoming an energy hub, fostering sustainability as it works toward the energy transition. The Sonora government just announced that Amigo LNG will invest US$3.4 billion to develop another gas liquefaction terminal at the port of Guaymas, under the leadership of Alfonso Durazo Montaño, as part of the Sonora Plan. This investment aims to establish the state as an international hub for gas liquefaction. Construction of this second project is set to begin in July. 

This announcement follows Mexico Pacific Limited's US$13 billion investment in a separate liquefied natural gas terminal seven months ago. Together, these projects represent over US$16 billion in investments, leveraging the region's robust port infrastructure.

Regarding renewables, the government of Sonora, in collaboration with ENGIE Mexico, recently inaugurated Akin Solar Park in the municipality of Puerto Libertad. With an investment of US$112 million, the plant boasts 390,000 solar panels capable of generating up to 100MW. Over 2,300 jobs were created during its construction phase, according to the company.

Overall, the Sonora Plan has 9 fundamental axes, including water operator strengthening projects, dam projects to prevent floods, sanitation and drainage projects, hydraulic infrastructure works, and more. This initiative was presented as a pivotal project in Mexico and the United States' transition to clean energy and electromobility, aiming to serve as a continental benchmark for trade relations focused on energy transition, while significantly reducing environmental impact, increasing job creation, and advancing towards a green economy.

More specifically, through a binational model between the United States and Mexico, the Sonora Sustainable Energy Plan aims to attract investments, drive a new development policy focused on lithium, and position the entity in the bilateral economic map.

With the construction of a photovoltaic plant underway in Puerto Peñasco, projected to be the largest in the Americas, the demand for sustainable energy is based on three pillars: clean energy consumption, attraction of the semiconductor industry, and a 32GW clean energy demand for the next 12 years.

The Sonora Sustainable Energy Plan includes four main aspects: creating a supply chain for electromobility, developing the Puerta Logística Noroeste project to enhance land and sea connectivity at the port of Guaymas, generating clean energy with solar panels, and talent development.

The photovoltaic plant of the Sonora Renewable Energy Plan will have an investment of US$1.64 billion, making it the largest plant in Latin America and the seventh largest in the world. The project is expected to be completed in April 2027, generating 1,000MW and benefiting 1.6 million consumers. It will provide electricity to over 538,000 households through 523km of transmission lines.

According to the state governor, the Sonora Sustainable Energy Plan garnered economic and social interest from Asia and was one of the topics discussed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during the APEC summit.