Yucatan 71 MW Solar Park Gets Environmental Green Light

Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) has granted environmental impact authorization for Kukuul, a 71-megawatt (MW) solar park in the state of Yucatan, backed by German renewable energy developer BayWa r.e. The permit, issued through SEMARNAT’s General Directorate of Impact and Risk, allows the project to proceed through site preparation, construction, installation, and operation.

The project will install 163,809 photovoltaic modules, each with a unit capacity of 585 watts, resulting in a total installed capacity of 71 MW. The design includes 274 string inverters, 25 transformation centers, a step-up substation, and associated electrical infrastructure, including a medium-voltage network and a transmission line to interconnect the plant with the National Electric System (SEN). Site access will be located at kilometer 2.7 of federal highway 184, which connects Muna with Felipe Carrillo Puerto.

The Kukuul solar park will be built on a 224.6-hectare site located between the municipalities of Sacalum and Ticul, in southern Yucatan. According to the environmental resolution, the project is authorized to operate for up to 35 years.

Construction will require the removal of secondary arboreal vegetation typical of low deciduous forest, which SEMARNAT has authorized subject to specific environmental conditions. The project layout excludes areas classified as non-intervenable by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), as well as existing electric infrastructure rights of way. The environmental impact assessment states that the project will not affect bodies of water or protected natural areas, and that the site meets topographic and solar irradiation requirements for the selected technology.

Documentation submitted to SEMARNAT in July 2025 indicates that while the project will connect to the national grid, technical details of the interconnection point have yet to be defined. The Kukuul project was first publicly referenced in September 2024, when BayWa r.e. announced early development plans, although the formal environmental review process had not yet begun at that time.

SEMARNAT’s approval of the Kukuul park comes weeks after BayWa r.e. announced a broader corporate restructuring ahead of a comprehensive rebranding scheduled for 2026. The company said the rebranding will underscore its distinct identity and greater operational independence, with the restructuring program expected to conclude in 2028.

As part of the restructuring, BayWa r.e. has divested or transferred non-core activities and has exited—or is preparing to exit—several Asia-Pacific markets. Through strategic project sales, the company has divested approximately 2.2 gigawatts (GW) of solar, wind, and battery storage projects in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. At the same time, it continues active development of around 1 GW of wind, solar, and storage projects that are under construction or already operational.