Solarcentury Makes Significant Progress In Mexico
The Secretary of Public Education for the State of Nayarit, one of the 32 federal entities of Mexico, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with UK solar company Solarcentury. The MOU will see Solarcentury build solar farms in Mexico to provide solar electricity to schools selected by Nayarit's Ministry of Public Education.
The Ministry currently pays a very high rate to supply fossil generated electricity to the state's schools. For this reason, it is looking to reduce its costs and use clean solar electricity from solar farms that could supply more than 500MW. Solarcentury will co-develop the solar farm with local Mexican company, Evolucion Energetica.
The solar farms will have a 10MWp capacity for solar energy that includes one or more plants for the generation of around 16,000,000 kWh per year, with the end goal of providing energy to the state-wide electrical system. Initially the power will go to the Ministry of Public Education's schools in the state of Nayarit, helping to drastically reduce greenhouse gases.
Alejandro Marti, project developer for Solarcentury in Latin America commented: "This solar project will bring great environmental, social and economic benefits for the Ministry of Education, displacing conventional energy with clean solar electricity for thousands of schools. In addition to significantly reduced energy bills, the Ministry will also be recognised for its genuine commitment to minimising its environmental impact. Using solar electricity means it will significantly lower its carbon emissions and become an exemplar for green energy leadership in Mexico."
In 2015, the companies will look to sign a Power Purchase Agreement that will see the Ministry of Education commit to using cheaper solar energy, resulting in significant cost savings.
Marco Antonio Ledesma Gonzalez, Nayarit's Minister of Public Education commented: "Providing our schools with clean solar electricity is an important part of our energy transition and we are pleased to be setting an example both for children and governments in Latin America and around the world. We are confident that Solarcentury's many years of experience building large-scale solar farms in the UK and Europe, and more recently in Africa, will ensure this will be a successful project."
Frans van den Heuvel, CEO at Solarcentury commented: "With the significant sunshine hours enjoyed by Latin American countries, not to mention high electricity prices, we believe there is a huge opportunity for solar PV to displace expensive fossil energy. Combining our 15 years of technical experience with local in-country experts creates a strong solar offering so businesses can invest in us with confidence. This MoU is the first step in what we hope will be the delivery of successful solar projects in Mexico and other Latin American countries."
The agreement was signed at an event in Mexico City attended by Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall, together with representatives from Ministry of Public Education employees, preceded by Secretary of Education Emilio Chuayffet and British Minister of State Hugo Swire.
