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
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]
Statistics
|
Installed PV capacity (in MW)[16][17][18] | ||
---|---|---|
Year End |
Total Capacity |
Yearly Installation |
2001 | 15 | 1 |
2002 | 16 | 1 |
2003 | 17 | 1 |
2004 | 18 | 1 |
2005 | 19 | 1 |
2006 | 20 | 1 |
2007 | 21 | 1 |
2008 | 22 | 1 |
2009 | 25 | 3 |
2010 | 30 | 5 |
2011 | 37 | 7 |
2012 | 52 | 15 |
2013 | 112 | 60 |
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.
- ↑ "Solar Energy Potential in Mexico's Northern Border States" (PDF). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
- ↑ IEA PVPS Task 1 (2010), Trend Report 2008 (PDF), retrieved 7 May 2012
- ↑ IEA PVPS Task 1 (2010), Trend Report 2009 (PDF), retrieved 28 March 2011
- ↑ "PVPS Annual Report 2013". International Energy Agency. 2014-05-06. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
External links
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