Wind Energy May Undergo Renaissance Via Tamaulipas Initiative

In 2018, Mexico topped the list of countries with the highest-valued wind industry, with an overwhelming worth of US$1.06 billion. Since that moment in time, however, the roll-out of wind capacity has continued to slow down to a grinding halt. Defying this unpromising outlook, Tamaulipas’ Minister of Economic Development revealed that investors could finance up to US$2 billion toward the construction of wind farms in the Northeastern state.

Carlos Alberto García González, President, the Mexican Association of Ministers of Economic Development (AMSDE) attributed this prominent investment to the rejection of the government’s attempted energy reform in April 2022, which according to García enables many delayed projects that were put on standby to resume operations soon. The AMSDE president explained in an interview with Forbes that about 14 wind farms are expected to generate 1.700MW of added renewable energy capacity, which will turn Tamaulipas as “the number one in generating electricity via wind on the national level.”

García’s statements are especially relevant considering that the construction of wind farms has been paused for over a year and a half due to the uncertainty caused by López Obrador’s reform efforts. He emphasized that following the rejection of the proposed reform, companies should feel welcome to meet with federal authorities, request operating permits and develop wind projects, as well as solar plants. García went as far as to say that the energy regulator CRE and the Environmental Ministry (SEMARNAT) are legally bound to grant permissions to local and foreign companies interested in building wind projects in Tamaulipas, something many analysts still doubt will materialize in the short term.

Oaxaca is still Mexico’s leading wind power producers. Nonetheless, the President of AMSDE expects Tamaulipas to become the new number one, as new projects would add 1.5GW of wind capacity to the state’s wind portfolio, which is a fifth of Mexico’s current total production capacity.

The private sector’s prevalent opinion has frequently voiced its discontent with the restrictions in generation and development permits coming from energy regulator CRE. According to the latest report by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), Mexico was identified as one of the countries with the most restrictive barriers in the world, stating that for a company to be granted operating permits it could take over three years due to “local opposition and slow approvals from authorities.”

Other experts have expressed an interest in adjusting the current wind energy development model. During the Mexico WindPower 2022, Octavio Mota Palomino, Managing Director, of the grid operator CENACE, suggested that the planification of the National Electric System should go back to the former model that implemented centralized o planification but had transformed drastically after five decades of changes. Furthermore, Mota Palomino asserted that CENACE would present no objection to being incorporated into CFE.