Mexico.
Héctor Olea, president of the Mexican Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy (Asolmex), commented that the companies that develop photovoltaic solar power plants will invest US$5 billion in the country over the next five years to expand the generation capacity to 4,000 megawatts.
The new projects will involve the generation of 9,500 direct jobs and about 20,000 indirect jobs.
When presenting the "Solar Initiative" for the next five years, Olea explained that projects totaling 286 megawatts of capacity are currently being developed, and other plants that won the first electricity auction held by the federal government in March, will generate 1,500 megawatts more in the coming months.
The remaining nearly 2,200 megawatts will be installed during the following years through auctions and other mechanisms so that in 2021 a goal of 4,000 megawatts will be reached, said the leader of Asolmex, which brings together operators, investors and developers of solar parks.
Olea stressed that 85% of Mexico's territory is conducive to the operation of solar power plants, which have had an increase in competitiveness because the cost of their technology has been reduced by up to 70% in recent years.
As of March of this year, nine solar plants were operating in the states of Baja California (northwest), Aguascalientes (center-west), Sinaloa (west) and Durango (north), according to data from the Ministry of Energy.
The federal agency estimates that, as part of the opening of the electricity sector derived from the reform, solar power generating parks will multiply to at least 63 by 2029.
Source: América Economía.
