Mexico is like a fragrant flower that attracted swarm of bees as it draws private companies to bid for power contracts. There were 11 companies that acquired rights to generate and sell 2,085 megawatts of clean power to Comisión Federal de Electricidad, a state-owned electric company. Among the energy companies, Enel Green Power got the biggest share of the project, winning three solar projects.
It would be considered the second time that Mexico allowed private companies to compete for power contracts. The first auction started in 2013 however; the government needs to hold the sale after it was messed up by a marred bid from Gestamp Wind. The past auction's outcome has lesser megawatts contracted and less investment committed.
"For the first time in Mexico, an electricity market has been established where the generation and commercialization of energy are open to free competition," CFE Chief Executive Officer Enrique Ochoa said Wednesday in Mexico City. The projects will "diversify our portfolio" and help the country meet its goal of sourcing 35 percent of its power from clean energy resources by 2024, he said, according to Bloomberg report.
Italy's Enel Green Power equipped with $1 billion investment will build the Villanueva and Villanueva 3 solar plants in Coahuila, a northern Mexico state and will be installed with a generating capacity of 754 megawatts. The third project will be the 238 megawatts Don Jose power plant in Guanajuato, a central Mexico state, reports Fox News Latino.
"We are extremely satisfied with the results achieved, which mark a historic landmark for our company and confirm our global leadership in the renewable energy market," EGP CEO Francesco Venturini said.
Acciona will build a wind farm that could generate 168 megawatts in the state of Tamaulipas. The project is called El Cortijo and is scheduled to start operations by 2018.
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