Mexican president insists clean energy agenda is on track

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has countered claims made in an energy ministry (Sener) report, insisting that the country is on course to meet its clean energy commitments.

At a press conference, AMLO said Mexico would soon become known as having one of the highest proportions of clean energy in its matrix for any nation worldwide, contradicting Sener’s latest four-year plan for the national electricity system, the Prodesen report.

That report, published last week, said the targets established by Sener in 2017 and 2018 to reach 35% domestic power generation from clean sources by 2024 were “not feasible”, even with Mexico’s inclusion of nuclear and hydropower as clean sources, adding that the goal would only be met by 2030.

Citing criticism that his administration prefers hydrocarbons and other “dirty” generation sources, AMLO said, “It’ll come as a surprise, because Mexico is going to show how it’s one of the biggest producers of clean energy in the mid-term, given the investments going there now.”

He added that, during a meeting in April with John Kerry, former US senator and Biden administration envoy on climate change, they agreed to hold a clean energy summit where Mexico will present its entire energy transition plan.

REPORT DETAILS

According to the Prodesen report, Mexico's incorporation of new solar generation capacity into the national grid suffered a steep drop in 2021, with additions falling significantly below those seen in previous years. 

Last year, Mexico added 806MW of new solar capacity, 46% less than it did in 2020. Wind additions remained flat, meanwhile, reaching 473MW, while no new biomass capacity was added.

In terms of combined cycle plants, 1.7GW in new capacity came online last year, 9.4% more than in 2020, while combustion engine plants totaling 199MW started operations, significantly less than the 585MW that began generating in 2020. No new conventional gas, internal combustion or coal-fired capacity was added last year, according to Sener.