WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version

2.2.6 Mexico
Bajo en Carbono Team, Mexico
Key facts
Population 116,901,761 1
Area 1,964,375 km 2 , of which 1,959,248
km 2 is continental and the rest is
islands
Climate Varies from tropical to desert 2
Topography High, rugged mountains; low coastal
plains; high plateaus; desert. Highest
point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m
Rain pattern Average annual rainfall varies
depending on the region between
50 mm in the North West and 4,000
mm in the South East, with a national
average of 780 mm. The rainy season
from May to October accumulates 83
per cent of the annual rainfall. 3
Electricity sector overview
The total installed electricity generation capacity in
Mexico is 61.155 GW, of which 52.974 GW belongs to
the Public Service by Comision Federal de Electricidad
(CFE), including the capacity of independent power
producers (IPP) who sell energy exclusively to CFE
under long-term contracts; and 8.181 MW belong to
private or other public generators, under the figures
of Self Supply and Cogeneration. 4 5
The installed capacity of the 30 large hydropower
plants amounts to 11.254 GW, and that of small
hydropower to 0.453 GW. 6 The share of hydropower
in the total installed capacity is 19.1 per cent and the
share of small hydropower is 0.7 per cent.
The total annual gross electricity generation in 2012
was 265.434 TWh. 4 Fossil fuels in various forms (coal,
steam/gas, internal combustion, combined cycle) and
nuclear power accounted for approximately 86 per
cent. The total generation from renewable sources is
14 per cent. It is expected that the demand of
electricity will grow 3.6-per cent each year over the
next 15 years.
In 2010, 97.7 per cent of the population had access to
electricity, with 98.9 per cent coverage in urban and
93.5 per cent in rural areas. 7 Most of the population
had no access to the grid. The main barriers to rural
electrification are difficulty of grid access to dispersed
populations over a large area due to the country’s
rugged terrain and limited infrastructure. Renewable
energy, not necessarily connected to the grid, is the
most extensively explored source by most of Mexico’s
isolated communities, where small hydropower has
significant untapped potential.
The framework of the Programme of Rural
Electrification and of Popular Colonies has allowed
more than one thousand localities to be connected to
the grid by 2012. With the implementation of this
programme, all localities with more than 100
inhabitants will be included in the statistics for rural
electrification rate. 8
Wind 0.14%
Geothermal 2.52%
Nuclear 3.91%
Hydro
13.88%
Fossil fuels
79.55%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Figure 1 Electricity generation in Mexico
Source: Secretaría de Energía 9
Note: Data from 2010.
Small hydropower sector overview and potential
In Mexico, a hydropower generation facility is
considered eligible for regulatory and other incentives
aimed at renewable energy projects when its capacity
is lower than 30 MW. 11 There are two exceptions to
this upper limit rule:
When the small hydropower plant has a reservoir
with volume of up to 50,000 m 3 , or it occupies
less than one hectare;
When the small hydropower plant is developed
in an existing reservoir, even with larger volume,
that can be equipped to generate electricity.
Even though the participation of private investors in
energy generation has been allowed by legislation
since 1992, there are very few small hydropower
projects in operation and the installed capacity is still
incipient. In December 2012, the Energy Regulatory
Commission (CRE) issued 36 permits to private
generators for small hydropower plants with a total
capacity of 466.8 MW; out of which 17 plants of 152.0
MW are in operation, 16 plants with 289.3 MW are
under construction, and 3 plants with 25.2 MW are
inactive. The total estimated annual generation of the
36 small hydropower private plants will be 2,325 GWh,
of which 802 correspond to the 17 plants in
operation. 5 The average plant factor that makes these
small hydropower projects feasible is 57 per cent.
CFE has 42 small hydropower plants of up to 30 MW in
operation with a total installed capacity of 301 MW. 6
In addition, it is currently planning nine projects of up
to 30 MW with a total capacity of 172 MW. The total
capacity of public and private small hydropower plants
in operation is 453 MW (for plants up to 30 MW)
(figure 2).
In 1995 the National Energy Saving Commission
(CONAE, now CONUEE) estimated the small
hydropower potential of Mexico at 3,250 MW
(capacity from 2 MW to 10 MW), as part of a total
national hydropower potential estimated by CFE. 10
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