BORDER ENERGY SPECIAL

Ronald Buchanan
Publicado 12 Octubre, 2009

Work is due to begin next month on a ground-breaking wind-farm in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas. The $328 million project at Los Vergeles in the municipality of San Fernando, will be the first of its type in Latin America to provide power for buildings in the public sector.
The 70 wind turbines at Los Vergeles will have a total generating capacity of 160 megawatts. In what is a truly international project, the Tamaulipas Environmental Agency for Sustainable Development is working with Germany’s Siemens and Renewable Energy Systems (RES) from the United Kingdom.

See also:
Special section with maps, tables and graphics - in PDF as Flipping Book
Winds of Change - special report on US-Mexican energy issues

Governor Eugenio Hernández Flores said: “Once completed, in November 2010, this plant will provide clean, economical energy to the state and its municipalities, for use in hospitals, street lighting, Comapas and government offices.” (Comapas is the state’s water and sanitation authority.)
“So far in Latin America,” the governor added, “wind-farms have served only private-sector institutions.”
Under Mexican law, production of electricity for resale to the public is a federal government monopoly, exercised by the Federal Electricity Commission. However, exceptions are made for self-supply projects with a particular emphasis on renewables. All 43 municipalities have registered under the legislation so they can receive power from Los Vergeles.
“We can’t buy power from anyone but the CFE, but we can consume what we ourselves produce,” said Salvador Treviño Garza, head of the Tamaulipas Environmental Agency for Sustainable Development.
The feasibility study for the project was conducted by the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas. The Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) certified it for funding by the North American Development Bank (NADbank).
“The big advantage of this project is that we’re helping to protect the environment by using renewable energy to supply public buildings, hospitals, schools and street lighting, and that will represent significant savings for the state and municipal governments,” said Treviño Garza.
And that’s not all. Treviño Garza reckons that Los Vergeles will earn Tamaulipas between US$1 million and US$3.5 million a year in carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol, depending on the amount of electricity produced.

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
Agencia Ambiental
para el Desarrollo Sustentable
(Environmental Agency for Sustainable Development)
Salvador Treviño Garza
Torre Gubernamental, Piso 9
Blvd. José López Portillo s/n
Cd. Victoria, Tamps.
+52 (834) 318-9450
www.tamaulipas.gob.mx