Mexico has once again postponed the deadline for its Second Call for Strategic Generation and Interconnection Projects . The National Energy Commission (CNE) will approve applications between November 4 and 5, 2026 , instead of the previously scheduled dates of October 8 and 9.
The adjustment affects stages 8 to 17 and shifts the entire decisive section, so the results will be published on November 6 , the authorizations will be notified on the 9th, and the final stage will extend until November 13 .
The round has already passed the registration stage ( it closed on September 2nd) and the initiatives are now going through the stages of technical analysis, interconnection studies and evaluation before knowing which ones will be able to move forward.
The deadline for submitting the required information has also changed. The Ministry of Energy (SENER) and the National Energy Control Center (CENACE) must submit it to the CNE no later than October 28, 2026 .
The regulator will thus have the administrative file with the documentation of each developer and, where appropriate, the elements provided by SENER, CENACE and the Technical Analysis Group.
With that material on the table, the CNE must resolve the requests between November 4 and 5 , in accordance with the applicable regulations.
The change is relevant not only because of the delay of almost a month compared to the previous schedule, but also because of the volume that Mexico seeks to incorporate, since the movement affects a process that seeks to channel 6754 MW of new capacity , between 4595 MW photovoltaic and thermosolar and 2159 MW wind, considering private investments and partnerships with the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE).
Furthermore, recent events provide insight into the developers' appetite. In December 2025, Mexico awarded more than 3 GW of renewable capacity and 1257.4 MW of storage to 14 companies through its first priority generation process for private entities.
The response was even greater in the first major call for the mixed scheme with CFE, where more than 200 initiatives and nearly 38 GW were submitted for evaluation , well above the requirement, and which finally ended with 38 projects for +8 GW and 2500 MW BESS assigned to 31 developers .
Storage: 935 MW open and the market is already calculating returns
Storage is on a different track, considering that the Energy Secretariat has already extended until October 30, 2026 the registration for the specific call for 935 MW of BESS systems with a duration of three hours.
As a result, the timeline difference is significant. While the generation sector is already undergoing evaluation and will have its decisions in November, battery developers will be able to submit proposals practically until the technical analysis of the renewable energy round is complete .
And the market is already starting to crunch the numbers, so the private sector expects the mechanism to replicate much of the structure previously used in mixed contracts with CFE.
Such as? A tolling agreement in which the investor guarantees capacity for the duration of the PPA, RTE and availability; variables that would also determine the compliance regime.
The approach assumes that the asset owner would not individually market the various services the battery can provide. Therefore, the expectation is ultimately to apply a known formula.
Although the discussion is not limited to the contractual format, given that profitability and remuneration are becoming central factors for investors , initial market estimates project internal rates of return below 14% and prices between USD 90,000 and 120,000 per MW of power.
The numbers do not yet constitute official conditions announced by SENER, CFE or CNE , but are private calculations on how the business could be structured based on the precedent of mixed contracts.
But they anticipate where the discussion will be when the final conditions are known: remuneration for power, availability, efficiency, penalties and investment recovery period .
With registration open until October 30, developers will have to determine if this equation offers sufficient returns to justify committing capital. By then, the renewable energy call for proposals will be just days away from announcing which projects will finally receive the green light from the National Energy Commission (CNE) .