Solar power in Mexico
Solar power in Mexico has the potential to produce vast amounts of energy. 70% of the country has an insolation of greater than 4.5 kWh/m²/day. Using 15% efficient photovoltaics, a square 25 km (16 mi) on each side in the state of Chihuahua or the Sonoran Desert (0.01% of Mexico) could supply all of Mexico's electricity.[1]
Production
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Mexico already leads Latin America in solar energy production. Historically, the main applications of solar energy technologies in Mexico have been for non-electric active solar system applications for space heating, water heating and drying crops. As in most countries, wind power development preceded solar power initially, due to the lower installation cost.[2] Since solar power is not available during the night, and because wind power tends to be complementary to solar, a mix of both can be expected. Both require substantial storage to compensate for days with no wind and no sun. Batteries provide short term storage,[3] and pumped hydroelectricity provides longer term storage.[4]
Projects
A 46.8 MW photovoltaic project is under construction in Puerto Libertad, Sonora.[5] Originally planned to be 39 MW, the size was increased to allow generation of 106,728,000 kWh/year.[6]
A solar trough based 14 MW plant will use a combined cycle gas turbine of 478 MW[7] to provide electricity to the city of Agua Prieta, Sonora. The World Bank has financed this project with US$50 million.[8] A 450 MW concentrated photovoltaics plant is planned for Baja California.[9]
A 2012 law requires 35% of electricity from renewable resources by 2024 and carbon emission reductions of 50% below 2000 levels by 2050.[10][11][12] Combined with declining solar installation costs, it's estimated that the 2012 climate law will lead to 6 GW of solar capacity in Mexico by 2020.[13]
At the Solar Power Mexico conference, it was said that PV electricity and solar thermal will comprise up to 5% of Mexico's energy by 2030 and up to 10% by 2050.[14]
At a clean source auction in 2016, solar won 1,860 MW at an average price of $50.7 per MWh (ranging between $35 and $67). The production is expected to be 4 TWh per year. Other sources such as gas, hydro and geothermal received no awards, and wind power won a smaller share than solar.[15]
Statistics
|
| Installed PV capacity (in MW) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year End |
Total Capacity |
Yearly Installation |
| 2001 | 15.0 | 1.1 |
| 2002 | 16.2 | 1.2 |
| 2003 | 17.1 | 0.9 |
| 2004 | 18.2 | 1.1 |
| 2005 | 18.7 | 0.5 |
| 2006 | 19.7 | 1.0 |
| 2007 | 20.7 | 1.0 |
| 2008 | 21.7 | 1.0 |
| 2009 | 25.0 | 3.3 |
| 2010 | 30.6 | 5.6 |
| 2011 | 40.1 | 9.5 |
| 2012 | 52.4 | 12 |
| 2013 | 112 | 60 |
| 2014 | 176 | 64 |
| Source: from the IEA-PVPS. Figures from 2001–2013,[17] and for 2014[18] | ||
See also
References
- ↑ Sunny Mexico: An Energy Opportunity
- ↑ Is Solar Power Cheaper Than Wind?
- ↑ Smarter Energy Storage For Solar And Wind Power
- ↑ Chu calls for hydro storage to conserve clean energy
- ↑ Mexico photovoltaic project to sell electricity to CFE
- ↑ Sonora Energy to Build 39 MW Solar Project in Mexico
- ↑ Agua Prieta II
- ↑ "Cumulative and Newly-Installed Solar Photovoltaics Capacity in Ten Leading Countries and the World, 2009". Earth Policy Institute. 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2010-09-22.
- ↑ First 50 Megawatts of Large Solar Power Plant in Baja California
- ↑ Mexico Emulates Neighbor California With 35% Clean Climate Law
- ↑ Mexican Renewable Energy Market Set to Soar in 2013
- ↑ Christina McCain (2012-07-16). "Mexico's historic climate law: an analysis". Environmental Defense Fund. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
- ↑ Lucy Woods (2013-12-19). "Mexico to quadruple solar growth in 2014: GTM". PV-Tech.org. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
- ↑ "Solar Power Mexico 2012: The Only Event Uniting the Rapidly Expanding Mexican Solar Industry". Solar Power Mexico.
- ↑ Mohit Anand (5 April 2016). "Solar Stuns in Mexico’s First Clean Energy Auction: 1,860MW Won at $50.7 per MWh". Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ↑ "Solar Energy Potential in Mexico's Northern Border States" (PDF). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
- ↑ "IEA PVPS TRENDS 2014 in Photovoltaic Applications" (PDF). http://www.iea-pvps.org/index.php?id=trends. 12 October 2014. pp. 67–68. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. External link in
|website=(help) - ↑ "Snapshot of Global PV 1992-2014" (PDF). http://www.iea-pvps.org/index.php?id=32. International Energy Agency — Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme. 30 March 2015. p. 15. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. External link in
|website=(help)
External links
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