Background

Historically, Mexico has depended to a great extent on fossil fuels for the generation of electricity. These conventional sources of energy adversely affect the environment due to the harmful emissions produced in their processes, including greenhouse gases (GHG) and other pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Consequently, there is a need for affordable and environmentally beneficial alternatives to conventional hydrocarbon-based energy sources. Renewable energy projects create an opportunity to generate electricity using sources that do not produce pollutant emissions like those released by fossil-fuel‐based plants. Sunlight is a clean form of renewable energy, which means that it can be used continuously without depleting natural resources and does not produce waste byproducts that require disposal or gas emissions that contribute to air pollution.

Project Scope 

The project consisted of designing, constructing, and operating a solar park with a total generation capacity of 317.5 megawatts of alternating current (MW_AC) on approximately 1,194 hectares (2,905 acres) of rural land and was divided into two components: Component 1 (180 MW_AC) and Component 2 (137.5 MW_AC). The project included the installation of polycrystalline solar modules mounted on single-axis tracker arrays and the construction of a collector substation and switchyard. The energy generated by the project would be delivered to the national grid through an existing transmission line owned by the Mexican National Electricity Commission (CFE).

Benefits

The project is helping reduce demand on traditional fossil fuel-based energy production and thus preventing the emission of greenhouse gases and other pollutants from such power generation. During its first year of operation, the solar park generated 917,762 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity, equivalent to the annual consumption of 132,554 households, and helped prevent the emission of an estimated 418,371 metric tons/year of carbon dioxide (CO₂).