The general director of Mexico’s state-owned electric utility, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), has announced plans to promote renewable energy generation in the country by forming strategic public-private partnerships.
Enqrique Ochoa Reza, speaking at a ceremony to inaugurate the 30MW Aura Solar I PV plant in Baja California Sur, said the utility was ready to work with private companies to promote the increased use of clean technology for energy generation.
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Ochoa Reza said the utility, a decentralised agency of the government which effectively controls Mexico’s electricity industry, was particularly committed to working in the state of Baja California Sur.
The director went on to say that as a state-owned utility with the attendant responsibilities that status entails, CFE needed to reform the electricity industry and company process to maximise the potential of renewable energy projects. According to Ochoa Reza this reform would assist the country’s aim of obtaining 35% of energy generation from renewable sources by 2024.
According to Ochoa Reza, the companies CFE would be willing to work with included Gauss Energia, installer of Aura Solar I and investor of US$25 million into the project.
No further details of CFE’s intentions or plans have been announced so far.
Aura Solar I will produce 82GWh of energy per year, enough to meet the demand of over 60% of the population of La Paz, the state's capital city. Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to the project were provided by Portugese company Martifer Solar, while modules came from Chinese company Suntech. The project went online in September 2013.
A typographical error in the spelling of 'Aura Solar I' that originally appeared in this piece has been corrected.
