Are private solar farms on hold in Mexico?

Thanks for reading — Jamie For the past six years, new large-scale private solar farms have largely been on hold in Mexico, with a rise in state-led energy nationalism working sharply against a sector dominated by foreign companies. At the same time, small-scale projects that don’t require so much regulatory approval have grown quickly.

How has Sam adapted to perform DPV analyses in Mexico?

In 2016, SAM was adapted to perform DPV analyses in Mexico via (1) adaptation of high-fidelity Mexican weather data from the National Solar Radiation Data Base and (2) inclusion of Mexican retail electricity tariffs in the OpenEI U.S. Utility Rate Database. These important upgrades now allow for users to quickly and easily design Mexican cases.

Can NREL's SAM model be used to analyze distributed solar systems?

Both analytical exercises described in this report used NREL’s SAM model, which can examine the technical and economic performance of distributed solar systems (see Using the System Advisor Model for Distributed Photovoltaic Analysis in Mexico).

What is distributed solar energy in Mexico?

Distributed energy in Mexico is classified as any system with a capacity below 500 kW. The National Association of Solar Energy (ANES from the Spanish acronym) reported approximately 21,600 interconnection permits for distributed solar in 2015.

Is Mexico ready for a 'distributed generation' solar project?

The relative success of the smaller “distributed generation” projects are a sign of Mexico’s huge untapped potential in solar. A 2020 World Bank report estimated that the country would need to dedicate only 0.1 per cent of its territory to utility-scale photovoltaic power plants to cover its entire yearly electricity consumption.

What are the applications of solar energy in Mexico?

Historically, the main applications of solar energy technologies in Mexico have been for non-electric active solar system applications for space heating, water heating and drying crops. As in most countries, wind power development preceded solar power initially, due to the lower installation cost.