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Solar Panel and Renewable Energy in Mexico

Development and Outlook for Photovoltaic

José G Vargas-hernández* and Emmanuel Rodolfo Ascencio Espinosa
University Center for Economic and Managerial sciences, University of Guadala-
jara, Mexico

International Journal of Abstract. Mexico has a great opportunity for the use of renewable energy (RE of
Environment and all types, including solar, geothermal, hydro, etc.., because it is a country with di-
Sustainability [IJES] verse climate and sea life that has not been thoroughly explored. It is necessary
ISSN 1927-9566 to identify the most suitable options for promoting public policies and finding an
Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 89-98 absolute advantage. Given international theories, we can use the same basis for
(2016) rethinking the development of the sector, using the country’s advantage in terms
of natural resources and climate types as a guide. We also see that international
experience shows that it is possible to establish markets’ "green energy" where
end users cover their costs and create a highly profitable emerging market for
both provider and consumer. There are existing government programs that sup-
port the same, a fact that makes investment from national and international firms
tempting.

Keywords. energy, Mexico, development, lead, renewable

*Correspondence:
jvargas2006@gmail.com

1. Introduction policies, laws, rules and regulations to promote
the rational use of non-renewable resources and
Renewable energy (RE) currently occupies an in- increase the implementation of energy sources
creasing space in the energy landscape and that cause less environmental impact, such as re-
global economics. All developed countries and newable energy. In the latter context, the use of
developing countries are changing their energy solar energy could play an important role.
policies for the development of technologies that
provide economic growth and can meet the de- Various energy planning documents developed
mands of its population. The technologies that and/or supported by several national and inter-
use renewable energy are currently experienc- national organizations and actors such as the
ing the highest growth rates in the world. Ministry of Energy (Secretaría de Energía), bilat-
eral cooperation agencies, research centers,
Mexico is no exception. Over the last decade, en- NGOs, associations, and representatives of civil
ergy reform has led to the development of the en- society and private industry, have highlighted
ergy sector. Currently there are 10 major private the enormous potential for Mexico to take ad-
companies engaged in the production of renew- vantage of the solar resource for thermal appli-
able energy who sell both CFE (Federal Electric- cations such as electricity generation.
ity Commission) as direct producers and produc-
tion equipment to businesses and individuals. In the case of electricity generation, interna-
Mexico has initiated a way to diversify fuels used tional experience shows that PV systems require
in electricity generation. The intensive use of fos- some form of intervention by the authorities
sil fuels has impacts on energy security due to conducting energy policy to overcome the obsta-
the volatility of prices and availability of fuels, cles and create a market that will accelerate their
environmental impact of the emission of green- development.
house gases, and health effects.

It is for this reason that in Mexico, legislators and
government have recently developed various