Photo: Deposit Photos

By KELIN DILLON

Despite Mexico’s Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) approving the addition of 407 new electrical projects to the country’s National Electric System (SEN), the National Center for Energy Control (Cenace) has reportedly kept the development of these projects on pause rather than adding them to existing infrastructure, which faced repeated strain and service cut offs last month due to rising temperatures nationwide.

The hundreds of pending projects would reportedly provide a capacity of more than 75,000 megawatts – approximately 80 percent of its current 94,822 megawatt total capacity – to the SEN.

“These are all interconnection permits or requests for new generation projects that have already been approved by the CRE,” Cenace Director Ricardo Mota Palomino stated at the International Energy Symposium 2023 on Tuesday, July 4. “But the processes are still being carried out to develop these projects.”

According to Mota Palomino, there are only 90 new consumer requests for load connection that only require 3,428 megawatts of electricity, which Cenace director claims is a clear contrast between energy supply and demand across Mexico.

A large portion of these requests are purportedly for the development of renewable energy structures, a trend Mota Palomino noted is growing across northern and western areas of Mexico, and made sure to point out that the federal government itself is currently working on a series of solar parks in the state of Sonora capable of providing 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy to the SEN.