Mexico plans to quadruple its wind power capacity from 2.5GW in 2014 to 10GW in 2018, and to add a further 22GW of wind energy by 2040 in a $46bn push toward a low-carbon economy. As the world’s 10th largest contributor of global emissions, Mexico relies on fossil fuels for 75% of its electricity.
This program sets out a way for Mexico to reduce carbon emissions by 22% by 2030 and make wider use of renewable energy and reduce non-renewable energy generation to 45% of the national mix.
“There is a clear national policy on climate change taking place,” said Alejandro Peraza, general director of the energy regulator CRE, when he told Bloomberg News: “We are going in the direction of a low-carbon economy.’… “We’re already a new country. Mexico is getting cleaner”.
Energy companies will receive certificates for every megawatt-hour of clean energy they generate, and will sell 20-year certificates through the auctions to large electricity users. Large consumers must get 5% of their power from clean sources by 2018 and China has moved early to capitalise on Mexico’s pivot to wind. Envision Energy, a Shanghai-based maker of low speed wind turbines, and ViveEnergia, a Mexican winder energy supplier, announced a strategic partnership to develop 1.5GW of wind energy capacity by 2020. The purchase is China’s largest direct investment in Mexico so far.
