Portugal-based Martifer Solar is building a 30 MW photovoltaic plant in Baja California Sur, Mexico, for energy developer Gauss Energía. The project, named Aura Solar I, will quadruple the total PV capacity installed in Mexico, according to Martifer. The company is responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction services of the plant and will also provide the operation and maintenance services upon completion. The project will be funded by local development bank Nafin, by International Finance Corporation (IFC, the World Bank Group) and Corporación Aura Solar.
It is Mexico’s first utility-scale solar project under a power purchase agreement between a private company and Comisión Federal de Electricidad, Mexico’s federal power company, ensuring the sale of the produced energy over 20 years. With approximately 132,000 modules installed on single-axis trackers, the plant will have a production capacity of 82 GWh/year when the park’s construction is completed in August 2013.
German-based Gehrlicher Solar is expanding its North American footprint into Mexico. The company will work with local developers, commercial customers, government agencies and the local utility, the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (Federal Electricity Commission), to engineer, procure and construct solar systems specifically for the Mexican market. Supporting the launch into the Mexico market, Gehrlicher Solar America Corp. will participate as a silver sponsor in Mexico’s renewable energy event, the 2nd Mexican International Renewable Energy Congress (MIREC) to be held May 29 at the Camino Real Polanco Hotel in Mexico City.
Mexico has set a renewable energy generation target of 20 percent by 2016 and 35 percent by 2035.
