Mexico's Energy Ministry (SENER) is moving forward with defining the second call for renewable projects under mixed development schemes with the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), known as Mixtos II, with a selection of 66 initiatives totaling 8241 MW of solar and wind capacity, distributed among 34 economic groups.
According to exclusive information from Energía Estratégica, the Mexican government identified the companies and projects that will continue in the "Call for Strategic Generation Projects" process, after evaluating a universe of 126 initiatives, of which 60 would be discarded.
The selected portfolio includes 57 photovoltaic projects, equivalent to 6310 MW, and nine wind power projects totaling 1931 MW. Together, they represent more than double the power initially required by the authorities, who had established a need of 3995 MW: 2955 MW photovoltaic and 1040 MW wind.
It is worth remembering that this progress corresponds specifically to Mixtos II, the call for proposals aimed at strategic projects developed under partnership schemes with CFE, and not to the second call for proposals for electricity generation for independent private developers, which was postponed until November.
Among the companies with the largest selected capacity are GEMEX (814 MW); Freeman (600 MW); Fisterra (495 MW); AES México (474 MW); and Invenergy (468 MW). These five groups account for 2,851 MW, equivalent to 34.6% of the total capacity still under evaluation.
It should be clarified that the information corresponds to the data that Energía Estratégica was able to access regarding the progress of the second mixed-capital call for bids (Mixtos II) . However, the list is not yet final and modifications may occur in the coming days , both in the number of projects and the MW associated with each developer, as well as in the inclusion of new companies not included in this initial selection. The final composition of the portfolio will depend on the subsequent technical and administrative evaluations of the procedure.
One of the most relevant findings is the prominence of domestic capital : 18 of the 34 selected economic groups are of Mexican origin and account for 3,814 MW, equivalent to 46.3% of the total capacity. Spain ranks second, with 2,403 MW, followed by the United States, with 1,437 MW.
The third position belongs to the United States, with three economic groups, eight projects and 1,437 MW , which is equivalent to 17.4% of the total power .
Canada, for its part, participates with an economic group, Polaris, which concentrates three projects for 260 MW , equivalent to 3.2% of the selected capacity.
Meanwhile, Japan has one economic group, Sojitz, with two projects totaling 177 MW , representing 2.1% of the total power.
Finally, Denmark participates through Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) , with a 150 MW project, equivalent to 1.8% of the selected capacity.
Which are the 34 companies advancing in Mixtos II and how many MW does each one have?
The ranking is topped by GEMEX , with four projects totaling 814 MW, representing 9.9% of the total capacity. Freeman comes in second with a single 600 MW project, while Fisterra completes the top three with two projects totaling 495 MW.
Further behind are AES Mexico and Invenergy, both of US origin, with 474 MW and 468 MW respectively, distributed in three developments per company.
Among the Mexican companies , Pantera also stands out, with four projects and 460 MW; ICA, with three initiatives for 435 MW; and Grupo Soluz Energía, with a 330 MW power plant.
On the Spanish side, Cox leads with three projects for 360 MW, followed by Alten, with two initiatives for 338 MW; Everen, with three developments for 325 MW; and Progressum , with another three for 321 MW.
Meanwhile, Solarig is the company with the most selected projects in the entire call, with five initiatives totaling 315 MW.
Among the developers that continue in the ranking is TW Solar , of Spanish origin, with three projects for 240 MW , followed by Agrorenovables , also Spanish, which adds two initiatives with a combined capacity of 200 MW.
In the next position is Japan's Sojitz , with two projects totaling 177 MW, while Mexico's Invex is moving forward with a 170 MW initiative, and Decenergy , also a Mexican company, has two developments totaling 160 MW. Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) is participating with a 150 MW project, while Mexico's Terralia has two initiatives totaling 148 MW.
However, Terralia assures that it is making progress in Mixtos II with a portfolio of 850 MW , a figure higher than the 148 MW distributed in two projects that appear in the documentation accessed by Energía Estratégica .
They are joined by the Spanish company Opdenergy , with a development of 139 MW.
Further down the list are the Mexican companies Titan , with a 132 MW project; Proyener , with a 118 MW initiative; and Thermion , which seeks to move forward with another 117 MW development.
In the 100 MW segment are Kiin Energy of Mexico and TUSAE of Spain, both with a project of that capacity. Meanwhile, the Spanish company Square Tustra Renewables continues its evaluation process for a 65 MW plant.
The list is completed with six Mexican economic groups: Vive Energía , with a 63 MW project; Troy , with 50 MW; GAES-Proyener , with 41 MW; Aselco , with 37 MW; Soluciones Energéticas para la Transformación , with 30 MW; and Solario , with a 10 MW initiative.
The distribution shows that, in addition to the large developers that concentrate the largest amount of MW, the selection includes companies with smaller-scale projects , from 10 MW plants to individual initiatives of 600 MW, which will also have to pass the following technical and economic stages of the procedure.
Which companies awarded contracts in the first mixed call are competing again in Mixed Call II?
Another relevant aspect of the new selection is the presence of developers who had already obtained projects in the first mixed scheme with CFE and are now participating again in Mixtos II , expanding their potential portfolio of renewable generation in Mexico.
As previously reported by Energía Estratégica , the first mixed call concluded with 37 projects for approximately 7,411 MW , corresponding to 31 developers, after a process that began with more than 200 initiatives and nearly 38 GW of capacity submitted.
Among the companies that appear in both that process and the new selection are Thermion, Terralia, Fisterra, Solarig, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), Freeman, Alten and Aselco , although the business names and vehicles used in both processes need to be distinguished.
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One of the most relevant cases is Thermion Energy , which was among the main winners of the first mixed call, with a portfolio that would exceed 1600 MW through the Montecristo, Delaro, Energeo Los Molinos, Santa Gertrudis, El Guajillo and Sol de Sonora 70 projects.
Another case is Terralia , which in the first mixed scheme had reached approximately 705 MW , including battery storage capacity.
Fisterra also stands out, having obtained approximately 659.2 MW in the previous process, through projects such as the Haab Kiin Solar Plant, the Cerro Colorado Solar Plant and San Simón Solar, according to the survey published by Energía Estratégica.
For its part, Solarig had been identified among the winners of the first mixed scheme, with approximately 108 MW distributed between PV Sandom Solar and PV Moquel Solar.
In this way, the comparison between both processes allows the identification of seven coinciding business groups or names , which together total 2,050 MW selected for study in Mixtos II .
For its part, Solarig had been identified among the winners of the first mixed scheme, with approximately 108 MW distributed between PV Sandom Solar and PV Moquel Solar.
That volume is equivalent to 24.9% of the 8,241 MW that remain under evaluation and reflects the recurring participation of developers who had already managed to position themselves within the first portfolio of mixed projects with CFE.
In which areas of Mexico are the selected 8,241 MW concentrated?
The geographical distribution of Mixtos II shows that the Northeast, West and East concentrate 80.1% of the selected capacity , with 6,605 MW and 48 projects that continue under evaluation.
According to SENER's monitoring, 55 projects totaling 7,349 MW correspond to the National Interconnected System (SIN) , while the Baja California and Baja California Sur systems account for another 11 initiatives totaling 892 MW.
The Northeast leads in selected capacity with 2,626 MW distributed across 12 projects , equivalent to 31.9% of the total capacity. The region has five wind farms totaling 1,496 MW and seven photovoltaic projects totaling 1,130 MW.
The West comes in second place, with 19 projects totaling 2,306 MW , representing 28% of the total. This region has the highest number of selected power plants, of which 16 are solar (1,973 MW) and three are wind (333 MW).
For its part, the Eastern region has 17 projects totaling 1,673 MW , equivalent to 20.3% of the selected capacity. Photovoltaic plants predominate in this region, with 16 initiatives totaling 1,571 MW, while one wind farm project contributes the remaining 102 MW.
The Central region incorporates seven exclusively photovoltaic projects for 744 MW , equivalent to 9% of the portfolio that is progressing in the procedure.
Meanwhile, the Baja California system has six solar initiatives totaling 705 MW , while Baja California Sur has five photovoltaic developments totaling 187 MW .
The distribution shows a marked predominance of solar power in five of the six regions analyzed, while the Northeast constitutes the main concentration of wind power , with 1496 MW of the 1931 MW selected for that technology throughout the country.
How is the Mixtos II process progressing, and what is needed to award the projects?
The selection of the 66 initiatives represents a new step forward within the Call for Strategic Projects for Electric Power Generation and Storage (Mixed II) , although there are still different stages to complete before the eventual formalization of the projects.
According to SENER's monitoring, the process includes 126 projects under review , of which 66 are considered priority projects to continue, while the other 60 non-priority projects would be excluded from the process. In other words, 52.4% of the projects considered would continue in the process , while the remaining 47.6% are likely to be discarded.
Among the priority projects, the National Energy Control Center (CENACE) must submit eight initiatives for the opinion of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) , while the state-owned company must express its positive opinion regarding nine other developments.
On the other hand, for non-priority projects, CFE and CENACE can conclude the procedure corresponding to 25 initiatives , while the Technical Analysis Group (GAT) must issue unfavorable opinions on another 35 proposals.
The next stage involves determining the payments for interconnection studies , at which point CENACE has a maximum period of ten days to establish the corresponding amounts.
Subsequently, the developers will have up to five days to make the payment , a necessary condition to maintain their participation in the process.
Once this requirement is met, CENACE must prepare the interconnection studies within a period of up to 30 days , after which it will notify the technical results and the costs associated with each initiative.
This step will allow us to determine the conditions for connecting to the electrical system and the works that may be necessary to incorporate the new generation capacity.
Companies will then have up to five days to accept the costs associated with the required studies and work . Applicants who fail to make the corresponding payments or accept the notified conditions will be subject to termination of the procedure.
In parallel, the GAT intervenes by issuing the corresponding technical opinions, which are subsequently notified by SENER to the applicants, CFE and the National Energy Commission (CNE) through the Single Window for Strategic Projects.
The monitoring establishes that SENER interprets and resolves according to criteria of certainty, technical competence and binding planning , while initiatives that do not obtain a favorable technical opinion will not be able to continue in the procedure.
Once the corresponding steps have been completed, CFE begins the procedure to, if applicable, formalize the projects under a partnership scheme with the state-owned company .
Thus, the 34 selected economic groups will still have to pass the interconnection assessment, accept the technical costs and meet the administrative requirements before finalizing their projects.