Mexico Could Cut Electricity Prices By 40% With Renewables

Mexico could see electricity prices drop by as much as 40 percent by deploying more renewable energy generating capacity. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the Mexican Business Coordination Council, quoted by S&P Global Platts. Representatives of the local wind and solar power industry associations were co-authors of the study.

Commenting on the study, the director of the Mexican wind power association, AMDEE, said that renewable energy could turn Mexico into a more competitive player on the energy market. Leopoldo Rodriguez also said, "Data have shown renewable generation in Mexico has more than surpassed all our expectations."

Last year, 21 percent of Mexico’s electricity, or 69.4 GWh, came from renewable sources. Renewable generation capacity stood at 22.3 GW, representing 30 percent of total installed capacity. Plans are in place to boost the portion of electricity produced by cleaner energy sources to 35 percent of the total by 2024.

Longer-term plans envisage expanding further the share of renewables in the country’s energy mix to 50 percent by 2050. As part of the plan, this year saw the launch of clean energy credits, a Renewable Energy World article by Mary DeFilippe from April noted, which will be instrumental in achieving the renewable energy goals of the previous government, provided, of course, the incoming Obrador administration sticks to them.

It might; although for now, the focus is on energy as a whole, and boosting domestic oil production is part of this priority. An August story by Reuters quoted analysts as saying that the Mexican president-elect could do better in his top priorities—poverty and equality—if he focuses more on renewables, which also made up part of his campaign platform. But there are worries that the pledge to put more power into the hands of Petrobras and increase domestic oil production would come into conflict with environmental commitments.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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