Mexico announced winners of the first electricity auction following its energy market reform. Seven companies won a total of 5,385 GWh. Among the companies that won solar power contracts, Enel Green Power (EGP) of Italy came on top. EGP won three bids with a total capacity of around 1 GW. Other winners for solar power contracts were SunPower, Recurrent Energy, Alten Renewable Energy.
All seven winners will collectively invest over $2 billion on the power plants that are supposed to come up in the regions of Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Guanajuato, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas by 2018. Out of these, solar projects will be located in the first three of the above mentioned regions. Around 56% of the total capacity went to solar, the remaining 44% to wind.
All companies will sign contracts with Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). Bloomberg reported that solar was awarded 1,100 MW, while wind got 620 MW. Yet, this auction will meet 84.66% of the state utility CFE's demand. To buy the remaining power, CFE will hold a second power auction in April 2016.
The average price for solar power hovered around $40.50 per MWh, which is even lower than the $43.9 per MWh for wind in the same auction. Mexican newspaper El Financiero quoted Undersecretary of Electricity at the Energy Ministry, Cesar Emiliano Hernandez who stated that this shows the competitiveness of solar technology.
EGP in its official press release said it will sign contracts for 15-years energy supply, and 20-years clean certificate supply, and invest around $1 billion on constructing the plants. CEO Francesco Venturini, said, "The nearly 1 GW we have just been awarded, in addition to the capacity already in operation and under construction, have turned us into the main player in the country."
SunPower, which was awarded 500 MW, said in a press release on April 1, that it is producing over 1 GW of modules per year in its Mexico facility in Mexicali.