Yucatan Governor, Minister of Energy Discuss Energy Matters

In an effort to help solve Yucatan’s precarious energy supply, an issue stemming from  its isolation from the rest of the national interconnected system (SIN) and insufficient access to the  natural gas pipeline system, the state’s governor and the Minister of Energy met to discuss various infrastructure projects.

Mauricio Vila Dosal, Governor of Yucatan, and Minister of Energy Rocío Nahle also discussed renewable energy development, since Yucatan functions as a key location for the development of these projects.

The government officials held talks over key public energy projects, including two combined cycle power plants CFE plans to construct in the state. In Merida, CFE is looking to develop a 500MW power plant called Merida IV, which will require US$214.6 million in investment. In Valladolid, the state utility looks to develop a 1037MW gas-fired power plant, with a price tag of US$449 million. The combined cycle projects are predicted to be online in February 2023 and May 2023 respectively.

To make these projects viable, the state’s natural gas supply should be strengthened. When CFE announced it had managed to overcome long-standing social issues in conjunction with Canadian pipeline developer TC Energía, the company highlighted that the Tuxpan-Tula puzzle piece would allow to increase the supply going toward Yucatan too. “Our agreement will also seek to resolve the historical problem, that of the lack of natural gas supply for the Southeast and the Yucatan Peninsula. This will happen via the construction of an offshore pipeline system that will go from Tuxpan to the Mayakán gas pipeline in the states of Campeche and Tabasco,” said a CFE official.

The minister and governor furthermore discussed Yucatan’s renewable energy portfolio, with 24 energy projects under development a cornerstone of the Mexican clean energy transition. Through an investment of close to US$3.5 billion, the portfolio could provide a capacity of 3,400MW. Not all the energy projects discussed were rooted in utility-scale developments, however: Dosal mentioned that using a trust the state could support the state’s retired population to acquire solar panels. This could provide the elderly with savings on electricity bill while simultaneously boost Yucatan’s clean energy power production.

CFE aims to construct six combined cycle power plants in total, with only Baja California receiving slightly more capacity: the state company plans to construct three power plans for a total of 1690MW. A 300MW solar power plant aiming to power the Mayan train project also involves CFE along with national development banks and tourism agency Fonatur.