Be the first on your block

Mexico’s progress in making greater use of renewable energy sources has long been shackled by regulatory restrictions on independent energy generation by private enterprises and citizens.  This, of course, has much to do with the histrionics of political sectors that oppose energy reform for reasons wholly unrelated to energy, but that’s another topic.  It’s a fundamental problem of, as we say in Mexico, “ni picha, ni cacha, ni deja batear.”  The resources of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) are far too stretched to finance a wide range of innovative alternative generation projects, particularly at the micro level, but regulation has largely prevented anyone else from generating electricity, even for their own consumption.  Some furtive steps toward modernization of the regulatory framework fortunately have been taken in recent years.  One such step, introduced almost surreptitiously in 2007, was the Interconnection Contract for Small-Scale Solar Energy Sources, which permitted private generation of up to 10kw for residential use and 30kw for general low tension use.  Although the practical impact of this regulatory innovation was virtually nonexistent, it is significant nonetheless in that it represents Mexico’s first toe-dip in the waters of net metering for private electricity generation.  Now, however, the government has taken another important step forward toward clearing the way for wider use of net metering for private electricity generation.

The Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación) published on April 8 a new Interconnection Contract for Renewable Energy Sources following its submission by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE).  The new contract, which supplants the Interconnection Contract for Small-Scale Solar Energy Sources, represents two important advances: 1) it expands the parameters of allowable independent electricity generation by allowing residential users and small businesses to produce higher volumes of electricity than under the previous net-metering mechanism; and 2) it allows for net-metered independent generation using “renewable sources” of energy rather than limiting the scheme to small scale solar generation.  The new contract also details the methods and procedure for billing and crediting deficits or surpluses once consumption and generation are accounted for.

Expanding the permissible generation methods to include wind, hydro, tidal and other alternative energy sources removes an important constraint from non-governmental energy development.  The step also should help to raise awareness of opportunities for net metering and independent power generation in general in the country, which heretofore has been low, to say the least.   A high profile, friendly promotion campaign to spread awareness and demystify independent generation would be welcome, but we’re not asking for miracles.  For now, the efforts of environmental groups, specialized equipment dealers and early adopters will have to suffice.  But at least we’re moving forward.

For anyone interested in examining the new contract, the details are published here.

Jatropha

Chiapas state capital Tuxtla Gutierrez has become Mexico’s first city to implement public transportation run on biodiesel, local media and the Chiapas state government have announced.  In early January 2010, the city’s mass transit system introduced two bus routes served by 71 new vehicles running on biodiesel produced in the state.  The buses will run initially on a 20/80 mixture of biodiesel and conventional diesel, but are planned to switch to a 50/50 mix mid-month and ultimately to 100% biodiesel by March.  The new technology will replace 143 vehicles that previously ran on fossil fuels.

The biodiesel to supply the Tuxtla buses is produced from jatropha grown in Chiapas under a government program designed to offer local farmers a profitable alternative to subsistence agriculture.  The state currently has 10,000 hectares under jatropha production, and a biodiesel plant with capacity to produce up to 20,000 liters per day, according to information provided by the Governor’s public affairs office.  Chiapas is also producing oil palm and castor oil plants for future use in biodiesel production.

An organization called Impulso Verde 2.0, with support from a range of public and private agencies and NGOs, has launched a call for projects to turn clean technology ideas into workable businesses.  The program, in the form of a contest, seeks proposals from individuals and micro and small businesses in areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, transport, sustainable construction and water and waste management.  The program calls for 64 proposals to be chosen by a panel of experts to compete against one another throughout various rounds, in areas such as concept, business model and marketing strategy.  Participants will receive advising in business development through a series of workshops and seminars, and ultimately one first prize winner and four second prize winners will be selected.  Winners will receive cash grants and opportunities to secure financing from investors.  The stated objective of the program is to support small businesses, entrepreneurs, researchers, students and inventors in developing their new ideas and technologies into functioning businesses to be applied in Mexico.

Full details on the Cleantech Challenge are available here:

www.cleantechchallenge.org

Down with the Gang of Four?

Amidst the wailing, gnashing of teeth, rending of garments and general raging rumpus that gushed forth in the wake of the liquidation of Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LyFC) last week, one interesting detail escaped us, until now: a rather modest paid advertisement in Reforma taken out by the Mexican Wind Energy Association (AMDEE).  The ad states simply, “Muchas Felicidades Señor Presidente.”  Now, unless President Calderón and his wife were celebrating their anniversary last week, we presume the congratulations refer to the dissolution of the electric company.  Seems straightforward enough, but the more we think about it, the little ad reads like a Mao-era Chinese wall poster.  The congratulations without any mention of the topic (birthday? Tae Kwon Do medal?) is uncharacteristically coy for this form of communication, even though the message is presumably implicit under the circumstances.  Mexico’s major wind farms, located far from the capital, certainly don’t compete with LyFC in power generation, and LyFC bought most of its power from the CFE anyway.  If the ad appeared only in Reforma (we don’t know if it appeared elsewhere), was it intended as an intimation of fellow-travelership aimed at the paper’s pro-business, pro-private sector readership?  But word, of course, gets around in this talky town.  If the ad appeared in the Pravda-like La Jornada, it would be perceived as a deliberate poke in the eye by that paper’s readership.  One would think the AMDEE would take pains to keep its image associated with more progre-friendly concepts such as “green,” “eco,” “carbon-neutral,” and whatnot, so why stick their necks out when danders are up?  We found no mention of the LyFC topic on the organization’s web site.  Considering that AMDEE’s membership includes numerous multi-national energy companies, we can only surmise that the cryptic ad is a winking affirmation of AMDEE members’ support for eventual privatization and opening up of Mexico’s energy sector in general.  But then again, to borrow a phrase from Ed Grimley, it’s difficult to say.

The union and its supporters have every right to protest, and surely they will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.  Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, a member of the union-supporting political party PRD, even took the disgraceful decision of evicting the International Book Fair from the city’s central Zócalo plaza in order to turn it over to the union for their protest.  This outrageously partisan political act by the mayor is particularly contemptible considering that Mexico’s low educational level is likely the single most debilitating obstacle to the country’s development.

We feel that the president’s decision to dissolve LFC was a difficult but very necessary measure.  Those opposing the move are raising a range of furious arguments in seeking to block and annul the decree, however none of these arguments is related to the actual provision of electricity to Mexico City.  Opponents argue that the government is exercising unacceptable interference in an autonomous union; that it is putting workers out of a job in the midst of an economic crisis; that the move will lead to privatization of the energy supply; that it is a manifestation of the oppression of the working class by the bourgeoisie; and other hoary canards used regularly here to justify corrupt unions and incompetent state-owned industries.  No one, not even opposition icon Andrés Manuel López Obrador, disputes that LFC is riddled with corruption, requires taxpayer subsidies of over US$2 billion annually and is one of the most infrastructurally backward electricity providers in the Western Hemisphere.

Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world, the capital of an OECD-member country.  If we had efficient electricity service at competitive rates provided by a profitable and proficient public utility, we would be happy to support the union in opposing undue intervention by the federal government.  But what we have is constant interruptions to the electricity supply, electrical workers demanding bribes for the simplest of services, onerous electricity rates and extremely damaging unstable electric current, all provided by a company operating at billion dollar losses run by a crooked union.  Such a system does not serve the interests of the community, The People, or the country.

In response to those who argue that President Calderón unfairly targeted the electricity workers union while ignoring other notoriously corrupt unions such as the SNTE teachers union or the STPRM oil workers union: we couldn’t agree more.  It’s time to go after them as well.

To be or not to be?

The Secretaría de Energía’s lofty proposed goal that 25% of Mexico’s installed electricity generation capacity be provided by renewable energy sources by the end of 2012 looks to be just a touch out of reach.  But unachieved goals notwithstanding, there is no question that topics related to renewable energy and clean technology in general are enjoying unprecedented levels of attention right now.  The surge of interest in bio-ethanol a couple years ago not only fanned the flames of the local food vs. fuel debate but also stimulated the proposal or development of a number of experimental bio-fuel projects in Mexico.  The initial frenzy over bio-fuel seems to have cooled somewhat since 2007, fortunately, but interest in well grounded projects and the potential for alternative fuel production in the country remains.  This week three events are being held at the María Isabel Sheraton here in Mexico City:  Carbon Markets Mexico & Central America, Biofuels Markets Mexico and Central America, and Jatropha Markets Americas, information on which can be found at www.greenpowerconferences.com .

Other upcoming events related to sustainability topics include:

V Congreso Internacional de Transporte Sustentable
October 12 – 14, 2009, World Trade Center, Mexico City
Info: www.congresotransportesustentable.org

XVI Border Energy Forum
October 15 – 16, 2009, Houston, Texas
Info: www.glo.state.tx.us/energy/border/forum/16/

Tercer Congreso Nacional de Suelo Urbano
October 28 – 30, 2009, Mérida, Yucatán
Info: www.cmq.edu.mx/documentos/Convocatorias/prourba/convocatoria_Suelo_2009.pdf

1er Congreso Internacional sobre Ciudades Sustentables
October 25 – 26, 2009, Morelia, Michoacán
Info: www.ciudadessustentables.org