Mexico's Electricity Regulator Puts Brakes on Renewable Energy Projects

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CENACE, Mexico's wholesale market electricity operator and regulator, recently announced modifications to secure system stability amid lower demand. In particular, all commissioning activity for new-build solar photovoltaic (PV) plants will be halted or postponed to avoid instability.

CENACE also will review all authorizations already granted to future projects, potentially affecting about $3 billion of projects in the advanced stages of construction. One example is Enel Green Power Mexico's 244-megawatt (MW) Dolores Windfarm, which now will begin commercial operations in August or later.

To avoid instabilities from intermittent solar and wind generation, CENACE will prioritize "must run" units for electricity dispatch, which are mainly state-owned utility Comision Federal de Electricidad's (CFE) thermal units running on fuel oil, coal and gas.

Industrial Info is tracking nearly $3 billion in Mexican solar and wind-energy projects that are set to wrap up in the next three months. Click here for a list, and see graph below for a breakdown of potentially affected investment.