The Spanish companies Iberdrola, Gamesa, and Acciona announced today that they will invest nearly $14 billion (11.8 billion euros) between 2015 and 2018 in Mexico's wind energy sector.
Iberdrola plans to invest up to $5 billion (4.2 billion euros) in the country, said Álvaro Portellano, head of regulatory affairs for renewable energy at the company’s Mexican subsidiary, during a joint press conference.
Eduardo Andrade, the company's corporate director for Mexico, told Efe that these investments are planned for the natural gas and renewable energy sectors.
For his part, Hipólito Suarez, Gamesa’s director for Mexico and Central America, said that his company will invest $950 million (805 million euros) in new wind farms, $500 million (423 million euros) in supplier development, and an additional $6 million (5 million euros) in a service center.
«We have three power plants under construction, an approximate annual output of 2,000 megawatts, and projects worth around $650 million (550 million euros),« said Miguel Ángel Alonso Rubio, CEO of Acciona.
Adrián Escofet, president of the Mexican Wind Energy Association, said that as of the end of December 2014, the country had an installed capacity of 2,551 megawatts.
Mexico has 31 operational parks in the states of Oaxaca, Baja California, Chiapas, Jalisco, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, and Nuevo León, and six more under construction.
According to a study conducted by the consulting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), in which 16 companies participated, along with Sener and the Energy Regulatory Commission, Mexico could reach 20,000 megawatts of efficient capacity.
A conservative goal is to generate 12,000 megawatts by 2020, which would be 60 %.
«With that amount of energy, the benefits would be in the range of $1.16 billion (983 million euros) and would create 45,000 direct and indirect jobs,» said Eduardo Reyes Bravo, an engineer at PWC.
Enrique Ochoa Reza, director of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), emphasized the importance of Mexico promoting diversity in energy sources to strengthen energy security.
«We must harness the power of wind, water, the sun, and geothermal steam to generate electricity. Mexico has great potential for renewable energy; its climatic conditions and geographic location» make it a «privileged country,» he noted.
