The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) awarded 37 projects to 31 developers in the first major call for bids of the new mixed scheme with private entities.
The result brings to a close a process that began with more than 200 initiatives and nearly 38 GW under evaluation, before being narrowed down to a final stage of 40 companies seeking to secure a place within the country's new energy strategy.
According to industry estimates, the 37 awarded projects would add more than 7,411 MW of capacity . Although official confirmation from the Federal Electricity Commission and the Ministry of Energy is still pending, preliminary figures suggest that the process has covered approximately 114% of the target capacity outlined in the call for bids.
Among the winning companies , Cubico México stands out as the main recipient with four power plants, Eléctrica Aselco (three projects), Atlántica Renewable Power México and Solarig, both with two developments within the scheme.
In addition, Thermion Energy, GP Renewables de México, Elawan, Freeman Energy, SQ Infraestructura, Sol de Sonora and Global Solar America 3, among other firms, managed to secure a place within the first portfolio of projects selected by the Federal Electricity Commission under the mixed scheme.
The awards were distributed across eight regions of the country. The Peninsular and Northeast regions led the selection , accounting for 20 of the 37 approved projects (+54% of the total), with ten power plants each .
In the regional ranking, the Northwest follows with five initiatives, Baja California, Baja California Sur and the West with three, the East with two and the North region with only one award.
The awarded bids cover solar photovoltaic and wind power. However, all projects seeking to advance in the new calls for proposals must adapt to a structural change in their design: the mandatory incorporation of storage systems equivalent to 30% of the installed capacity and with a minimum duration of three hours.
The projects awarded, region by region
The Northeast region obtained ten awards: El Chorro, Parque FV Energías Renovables de Tamaulipas, Delaro, Energeo Los Molinos, Montecristo, PE Región Noreste, Santa Gertrudis, El Guajillo and Viento de Bella Unión, among other developments approved by the state company.
In Baja California, San Simón Solar, Solitario and CFV Quasara were selected, while Baja California Sur advanced with El Palmar, La Pasión and Álvaro Obregón.
Meanwhile, the Eastern region incorporated the Cerro Colorado Solar Plant and Solar Energía Tres Hermanos; the Northern region advanced with CFV Las Garzas; and the Northwest obtained five awards with Sol de Sonora 70, Cimarrón Solar, Sunora, La Poza Solar and Don Humberto.
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The Western region closed with three developments: Selka Power Plant 1, San Pedro Solar and Fresnillo (PV Atocha), while the Peninsular area concentrated ten initiatives among which stand out Tikinmul, Kiin (Tekax), Los Girasoles, Hecelchakán, PV Sandom Solar, Saas (Peto), Planta Solar Haab Kiin, Dalia 3 PV (Castamay), Global Solar 3 Campeche and PV Moquel Solar.
The other side of the process is that at least 46 projects failed to be awarded , either due to a lack of proposals, saturation of the transmission network, technical infeasibility, financial non-compliance, or because the offers submitted did not guarantee the best economic conditions for the state-owned company.
In fact, the review of the reports shows that numerous rejected bids had internal rates of return (IRR) of between 14% and 16% , in addition to monomial prices significantly higher than regional benchmarks.
Some rejected initiatives offered prices of $99.8 per MWh, $110.3 per MWh, $112.2 per MWh, $124.9 per MWh and even more than $300 per MWh in hybrid parks.
In contrast, industry sources maintain that a large portion of the projects ultimately selected fell below the target 14% profitability threshold and had considerably more competitive energy prices.
New calls for proposals underway
The results of the first joint call with CFE come in parallel with the opening of a new stage for private investment in Mexico, given that the Ministry of Energy recently launched new calls for renewables, storage and self-consumption, in addition to updating the schedules for the presentation and evaluation of initiatives.
Within this new regulatory package, developers will be able to participate with 100% private projects or under mixed schemes with CFE, while non-associated storage systems will be reserved for partnerships with the state-owned company.
