Mexico's First 63 Megawatts of Wave Power to Be Installed in 2013

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--At the beginning of 2011, Mexico had 524.5 megawatts (MW) of installed renewable energy capacity with a further 3,400 MW of committed wind energy projects in the pipeline, which were scheduled to come online through 2016. New projects (with technologies other than wind contributing) are regularly being added to the renewable pipeline total.

In December, the Mexican renewables developer Marersa will launch a 3-MW wave plant for Comision Federal Electricidad (CFE) (Mexico City, Mexico), Mexico's state-owned power utility, and an additional 60-MW facility under the self-supply model in 2013. This will be Mexico's first wave power generator.

CFE commissioned Marersa to build the $5.4 million Rosarita pilot project on the breakwater of the Presidente Juarez thermal power plant in Baja California on the Pacific coast.

The 60-MW project already has CFE's approval. The project is planned for the Gulf of Mexico coast in Puerto de Tuxpan and other areas of Veracruz State. The first 2 MW are scheduled for operation by March 2013, and an additional 22 MW are scheduled to launch in April. The balance of the project is scheduled for August.

It is projected that the power output will be 20% cheaper than CFE's retail rate. Projects will operate at an 85% efficiency level. According to Marera, the wave systems will be built with an investment of $2 to $2.5 per MW, which is cheaper than solar and wind generation.

In the wind power sector, it is expected that CFE will announce the winners of contracts for phases I and II of the Sureste wind project.

The contract for the first phase (which is 202 MW) covers operation, maintenance and ownership of the facility under a fixed power purchase agreement (PPA) with CFE for 20 years, following completion of construction. The first phase is scheduled to start up in February 2014.

The second phase (which is 1,010 MW) will be covered by the same terms as the first phase and is scheduled to start up in May 2014. The site for both projects will be in the Ixtepac municipality of Oaxaca state, in the Tehuantepec isthmus.

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