mexico renews itself - ProMéxico

VII III - 2012
mexico
renews
itself
An Overview of the
Mexican Renewable
Energy Industry

Contents.
July 2012
Cover Feature
Mexico
Renews
Itself
An Overview of the
Mexican Renewable
Energy Industry
Page 22
From the Ceo 4
Briefs 6
Special Report
Morelos
Just The Ticket for Investors 11
Mexico in the World
A Green Agenda for the Coming Years 14
Guest Opinion
Renewable Energies and the Reduction
of Gas Emissions in Mexico 16
Business Tips
Mexico and Renewable Energy 18
Mexico’s Partner
Vinte 12
México Power Group 26
Kioto Clear Energy 28
Siliken 30
Conermex 32
Energías Renovables de México 34
General Electric 36
Siemens 38
SoWiTec 40
Kyocera 42
Solartec 44
Figures 46

The Lifestyle
The Complete Guide to
the Mexican Way of Life
ProMéxico
Carlos Guzmán Bofill
ceo
Sebastián Escalante
Managing Coordinator
sebastian.escalante@promexico.gob.mx
Miguel Ángel Samayoa
Advertising and Suscriptions
negocios@promexico.gob.mx
Natalia Herrero
Suzette Celaya
Copy Editing
The Lifestyle Briefs
PagE 50
The Lifestyle Report
Mexico in Expo Yeosu 2012
Page 52
48 Hours in
Veracruz
Page 58
The Lifestyle Feature
The Good Land
Mexican Organic Products
Page 62
Design
The Acapulco Chair
Page 70
Mexico According To...
Enrique Olvera
Page 72
Mario
Molina
There is Something
in the Air
54
Interview
Betsabée Romero
City on a Thread
Page 66
Laboratorio Editorial
Felipe Zúñiga
Editor in Chief
felipe@laboratorioeditorial.com
Paola Valencia
The Lifestyle Editor
Alan Acevedo
Design
Graeme Stewart
Proofreading
CM Idiomas
Alison Stewart
Translation
This is an editorial project for ProMéxico
by Laboratorio Editorial S.A. de C.V.
Download the PDF version and read the interactive
edition of Negocios ProMéxico at:
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No. 04-2009-012714564800-102. Licitud de título:
14459. Licitud de contenido: 12032, ambos otorgados
por la Comisión Calificadora de Publicaciones
y Revistas Ilustradas de la Secretaría de Gobernación.
ISSN: 2007-1795.
Negocios ProMéxico año 5, número VII, julio 2012,
se terminó de imprimir el 16 de julio de 2012, con un
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any omissions, inaccuracies or mistakes. July 2012.

From
the CEO.
Renewable energies in Mexico have grown progressively over the last decade.
Not only has there been an increase in the country’s installed capacity to generate
electricity from renewable sources, but favorable conditions have been created
for business development in the sector.
This progress has been driven by several factors, including public bids for the
development of renewable energy infrastructure, boosted by the determination
of the Mexican government to privilege the use of clean sources to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in the country; opportunities to establish equipment
manufacturing centers and develop renewable energy technologies; and a
budding market that secures stronger commitments for a clean consumption.
Current global leaders in the renewable energy industry are setting their sights
on Mexico and its business potential to develop the sector. In much the same way,
businesses of all sizes and sectors are now investing in power generation projects
for self-consumption, convinced of the savings and their contribution to the
country’s environmental protection goals.
Mexican homes are committing to renewable energy like never before. This,
in turn, has resulted in a dramatic growth in the market for residential clean
energy systems.
Mexico is creating the right conditions for renewable energy to become not
only a viable option to responsibly satisfy its future power needs, but also a
strategic industry that receives investment and creates new jobs; an economic
sector with the highest growth rate and largest number of development
opportunities.
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Welcome to Negocios!
Carlos Guzmán Bofill
CEO
ProMéxico
negocios.promexico.gob.mx
negocios@promexico.gob.mx

Briefs
Briefs
RENEWABLE ENERGY
EGP Starts Operations
of its New Wind Farm
_____
Enel Green Power (EGP) has started operations at its first wind
farm in Mexico, Bii Nee Stipa II.
The plant, which leverages on the excellent wind resources
that characterise the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, located in the
state of Oaxaca, has a load factor of around 40%. The fully-operational
plant is able to generate over 250 million kWh of clean
energy annually, therefore avoiding atmospheric emissions of
over 100,000 tons of CO 2
every year.
With the start of operations of this new facility, EGP has
strengthened its footprint in the promising Mexican renewables
market, which the Group has been present in since 2007
in the hydroelectric sector. Bii Nee Stipa II now lines up alongside
the three hydroelectric plants which, with a total installed
capacity of 53 MW, generated over 230 million kWh of zeroemissions
energy in 2011.
Developed and built by Gamesa the plant is comprised of 37
Gamesa wind turbines of 2 MW each, for a total installed capacity
of 74 MW. Total investment for the construction of Bii Nee
Stipa II amounts to about 160 million usd.
www.enelgreenpower.com
photo archive
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Building
a Green Future
_____
Cemex has introduced its Ecoperating seal that will identify the
products and services from the firm’s portfolio of building solutions
that have an outstanding sustainability performance.
Ecoperating is a seal that was developed through a rigorous
internal process that measures the environmental or social impact
of a wide range of building solutions that Cemex offer: from products
like low CO 2
cement or concrete, to services such as paperless
invoicing, to construction solutions like concrete pavements
with smart LED lighting, to initiatives to build affordable housing,
and to increase the use of alternative fuels derived from industrial,
agricultural and residential waste.
The Ecoperating seal was introduced in June 2012 in a number
of Cemex’s cement and concrete products in Croatia, will
be introduced in Egypt, the Philippines, Colombia, Costa Rica
and Mexico during the third quarter of 2012, and in countries in
Northern Europe, South America and the Caribbean and Asia
during the fourth quarter of 2012 and the first half of 2013.
www.cemex.com
photo courtesy of cemex
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Mexico Holds the World’s
Leading Position in Near-shoring
_____
Reflecting continued rising labor and
other manufacturing costs for imports
from faraway places like China, “nearshoring”
continues to be seen as an opportunity
to serve US demand by about
half of C-level and other senior executives
of manufacturing-oriented companies,
and while 35% of that number view
manufacturing inside the US as the most
attractive choice for such re-sourcing –up
from 21% in 2011– 50% view last year’s
top choice, Mexico, as the No. 1 choice
again in 2012. That is s according to a
survey of C-level and other senior executives
in manufacturing-oriented companies
that sell into the US market released
by AlixPartners, the global business advisory
firm.
According to the survey, Mexico’s average
ranking for attractiveness among
those likely to near-shore was more than
seven times that of Brazil’s and countries
in Central America combined.
The survey also polled executives on
plans to off-shore current US operations,
and found that 37% of respondents have
already completed or are in the process of
off-shoring, while 27% expect to off-shore
US operations within the next three years.
Of those who have off-shored or plan to
off-shore, Mexico also topped the list as
the most attractive locale, beating out
the BRIC countries.
Highlighting geographical proximity
and improvements in transportation
services, 63% of senior executives chose
Mexico as the most attractive locale for
re-sourcing manufacturing operations
closer to the US market –compared with
just 19% who would re-source to the US.
www.alixpartners.com
photo archive
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
Preparing
the Landing Gear
_____
UK Aerospace Parts Supplier JJ Churchill Ltd. will invest more
than 9 million usd to install a plant in Guaymas, Sonora, where
the company will manufacture gas turbine aerofoils in Mexico.
According to the company, the Sonoran factory will allow
JJ Churchill to increase its competitiveness on high volume
components. With the addition of the new Mexican facility, the
firm will now have a strong presence in all three stages of the
product manufacture lifecycle: from new product introduction,
through to volume production and after-market demand.
www.jjchurchill.com

Briefs
Negocios ProMéxico 11
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
Union Makes
Strength
_____
Embraer and Zodiac Aerospace have
reached an agreement to set up a joint
venture to manufacture in Mexico cabin
interior parts for the Embraer 170/190
family of jets.
Embraer is expanding its manufacturing
operations beyond Brazil, where
costly labor, infrastructure bottlenecks
and currency swings have weighed on the
country’s industrial base.
The Mexico venture follows the opening
of Embraer’s industrial facilities in
China, Portugal and the US.
www.embraer.com
www.zodiacaerospace.com
photo archive
Morelos
Just the Ticket for Investors
Strategically located and offering excellent quality of life, the state of Morelos
has a competitive workforce skilled in a wide range of manufacturing activities.
Corporations have found this to be an exceptional environment for innovation and
technological development, a factor that accounts for the recent surge in productive
investment.
FOOD INDUSTRY
Reviving an Ancient Crop
_____
Hershey, the biggest chocolate producer
in North America, aims to revive Mexico’s
cocoa production by giving away
disease-resistant plants to farmers.
The company has launched the 10-
year Mexico Cocoa Project with cocoa
supplier Agroindustrias Unidas de Cacao,
a member of the Ecom Cocoa Group.
The project, which will take place
in southern Mexico, is a 2.8 million usd
initiative, aimed at treating frosty pod
rot, or Moniliasis, which is a disease that
attacks the fruit of the cacao tree.
The farmers who receive the hybrid
plants, which will take three to seven
years to grow useable cocoa pods, will
not be obligated to sell to Hershey.
www.thehersheycompany.com
World-class companies seeking to invest in Mexico
have found Morelos fits the ticket. Between
year-end 2006 and June 2012, the state received
over 900 million usd in foreign direct investment
(FDI), with private investment averaging 500 million usd a year in
the same period.
In terms of innovation and technological development processes,
the Science and Technology Consultative Forum (FCCyT)
ranks Morelos third in the country, mainly on the strength of its
institutional and legal framework, the number of scientists either
working or undergoing training there and public investment in science
and technology.
Several strategic infrastructure projects are currently underway,
like the Cuernavaca International Airport, the Tec de Monterrey-
Morelos Center for Innovation, the World Trade Center Morelos
Convention Complex, a combined cycle power plant and a gas pipeline,
as well as road works and the extension of highways.
There are two research centers in the state of Morelos that are
leaders in Applied Physics and Energy: the Institute of Physical Sciences
(ICF), located in the Cuernavaca Campus of the National Autonomous
University of Mexico (UNAM), and the Energy Research
Center (CIE), located in the municipality of Temixco.
These research centers lead the way in areas related to renewable
energies, which they study from physics-mathematics, chemistry-biology,
economics and engineering standpoints.
Among their lines of research is the development of photovoltaic
materials and optical and optoelectronic devices, along with the
evaluation of photovoltaic systems. They also perform studies on
techniques to leverage solar and geothermal power, and on energy
planning. In addition, these centers do research on refrigeration systems,
heat pumps and thermal transformers, as well as basic and applied
studies on phenomena related to irreversible process thermodynamics,
statistical mechanics and solid-state physics. Furthermore,
they explore energy and mass transfer in various systems: openchannel
flow, natural convection and oscillatory flows, among others.
The Morelos i+D Science and Technology Park, located 20 kilometers
south of Cuernavaca next to the Cuernavaca-Acapulco Highway,
is also worth mentioning. The facility covers 36 hectares, 15 of which
have been urbanized and have all the basic utilities, including a fiber
optic network to facilitate voice and data transmissions, and an electric
sub-station to guarantee a reliable supply to the firms that have
migrated there, mainly technology-based companies and applied
research centers operating in both the public and private sectors.
Morelos i+D has two four-story buildings, each with 3,000
square meters of space available for lease, plus a high-tech incubator,
an accelerator, training facilities, a business center and a
technological center.
The latter is what sets Morelos i+D apart from similar projects in
Mexico. Boasting labs and applied research units set up by leading
academic institutions, not just in the state but nationwide, is what
turns this center into the spot that renders the chemical analyses,
resistance testing, advanced microscopy and other such services
demanded by the industry in the areas of biotechnology and the
physical sciences.
www.negociosenmorelos.gob.mx

12 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 13
A Unique
Solution to
a Common
Problem
A pioneering force on the Mexican market,
Vinte’s integral housing concept has garnered the
company international recognition.
____
by david ricardo vizcarra
photos courtesy of vinte
All over the world, people come home from a hard day
at work to broken water heaters and leaking faucets.
As if this weren’t bad enough, many of them live in
rundown neighborhoods where it’s not safe to walk
the streets at night.
Aware of this reality, a group of visionaries with experience
in the housing sector set themselves the mission of developing a
sustainable residential concept with a focus on social integration
and quality of life. In short: decent housing.
But what is decent housing? According to Vinte CEO Sergio
Leal, it’s housing “that you like and where you live a positive life.
If you don’t like how you live, it’s going to affect the rest of your
activities. Vinte was founded with the vision of providing and
building decent homes.”
The company started out in 2004 with a residential development
in Tecamac, Estado de México, consisting of 1,860 homes
equipped with an Internet connection and a free computer.
“Why not install fitted kitchens instead?” commented one of
Sergio’s colleagues, to which he replied: “Because what I’m offering
will give my customers access to culture so they have the
possibility of acquiring more things.” And so the integral housing
concept began to take shape. “At first people said we were crazy,
that technology should enter at the top of the pyramid and not the
base. But we were convinced that if it enters at the base, it lowers
the cost and that’s in everyone’s interest,” says Sergio Leal.
Eight years down the line, Vinte’s residential developments
in Estado de México, Querétaro, Quintana Roo and Hidalgo have
cycle paths, parks and shopping malls that create a sense of community
and encourage people to enjoy leisure time with their
families. Today, Vinte is the only Mexican company building
seventh-generation and nearly-zero-energy homes.
In this instance, the term “seventh-generation” refers to
homes designed to incorporate broadband Internet, computer
equipment and connectivity services from day one, while “nearly
zero energy” homes feature a bioclimatic design, advanced telemetry
systems, photovoltaic (PV) and other energy efficiency
systems that can translate into savings of up to 90% on homeowners’
electricity bills.
Boasting the largest (R&D) area in the sector, Vinte not only
has a nanostructured materials lab, but has entered into a research
alliance with the Mexican cement giant Cemex, is working
on the development of plastics with Intel, and ways of making
steel lighter and more resistant.
The sub-products of these collaborations –like insulation
paint that saves on polystyrene and a telemeasuring system that
provides real-time information on how much gas you have left or
how much water and electricity you are consuming– are incorporated
into the homes Vinte builds.
Vinte, says Sergio Leal, “is the only housing developer in
Mexico whose value is increasing at an annual rate of 20%.”
These figures have not escaped the notice of the World Bank
(WB), which acquired a 10.6% stake in the company back in
2008, in the full throes of the international financial crisis. Vinte
is the first housing developer in the world to receive WB investment
funds and according to a report published by the institution,
Mexico’s housing sector is a model to be followed by the rest
of the world.
“In Mexico, a house costing just 19,000 usd can qualify for a
green mortgage [to equip it with sustainable technology]. Where
else in the world can you see this?” asks Leal.
Solid financial results speak to the effectiveness
of Vinte’s business model. In
the first quarter of 2012 alone, the company
posted growth 21.2% higher than in
the same period of 2011.
“We did things properly. We’re a solid
company with a social, economic and ecological
vision –which happen to be the three
pillars of sustainable development. The
market is rewarding us; we report good results
and have a very large innovation area,”
says Sergio Leal.
Just recently, the German Investment
Corporation (DEG) extended Vinte a
200-million-peso credit line (almost 15 million
usd). This is the first time in history that
a banking institution of such prestige has
placed its trust in a Mexican company.
International recognition is simply one
more reason to continue providing Mexicans
with decent housing in a sector where
“competition will hinge on added value, resulting
in a win-win situation for the customer.
Vinte will continue anticipating the
conveniences people will need in the short
term, with a view to holding on to its position
as the leading company in the sector in terms
of innovation,” concludes Sergio Leal. n
www.realparaiso.com

14 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 15
A Green Agenda
for the
Coming Years
Free trade is defined through the increase in a
country’s productivity and competitiveness.
As one of its most ardent advocates, Mexico
has earned good standing in international
negotiations and attracted productive
investments.
____
by edward ranger* and mariana westendarp**
illustration archive
provided that health and scientific considerations are taken into
account; e) providing incentives for private sector participation
in the generation of electricity from landfill waste; and f ) providing
financial, economic and administrative support to projects
regarding solid urban waste management.
Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico
The Ministry of the Navy (SEMAR) and the CONAGUA should
strengthen the supervision and oversight of wastewater discharges
in coastal zones and enhance the identification of discharge
sources to the sea. In the event of contamination, cleanup programs
should address all pollutant sources involved.
Institutional Strengthening
Improved coordination is recommended among the Ministry of
Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), other federal
government agencies, national and international financial
funds, and state and municipal governments to prevent the loss of
economic resources from green funds and to simplify administrative
regulatory procedures. The creation of a government agency
in charge of coordinating the development of green projects and
a “single window” system for administrative procedures is suggested.
In addition, the Federal Environmental Protection Attorney’s
Office (PROFEPA) should be provided with autonomy and
an environmental public defender office should be implemented.
Border Matters
Enhanced coordination and standardization should be implemented
between Mexican environmental authorities and its
counterparts in neighboring countries. Such coordination and
standardization should consider the following matters: a) information
systems for GHG inventories and protocols; b) promotion
of solar energy exploitation in Mexico’s northern border;
c) enhanced water distribution planning and management; d)
economic and technical cooperation for management and conservation
of shared biodiversity; e) control system of entry and exit
of hazardous waste and biodiversity; f ) clarifying and enhancing
coordination protocols between environmental authorities and
their counterparts in Mexico; and g) complying with maximum
permissible emission of gaseous pollutants from motor vehicles
that use gasoline as fuel, mainly in Mexico’s northern border.
These suggestions are an important outcome of extensive
consultations. All of them are committed towards sustainable
economic growth and environmental best practices. n
*Chairman, Climate Change Committee, American Chamber of Commerce
of Mexico.
** Associate lawyer at Jáuregui y Navarrete.
The recent publication of Mexico’s General Law on Climate
Change requires the implementation of several
economic provisions in order to mitigate greenhouse
gas emissions (GHG) and define the operation of the
Mexican carbon market. Said law sets adaptation mechanisms
in vulnerable sectors such as: biodiversity conservation, coastal
areas, agriculture and fisheries. Along with these matters, efficient
energy consumption and waste reduction should also be taken into
consideration.
Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency
The exploitation of Mexico’s renewable energies needs specific
actions to be effective, among others: a) broadening the range of
participation from national and foreign companies in renewable
energies; b) opening the market to the sale of electricity surpluses;
c) assessing the existence of economic and financial incentives for
electricity generation from solar energy; and d) carrying out significant
reforms to the legal framework regarding national water,
mining and environmental protection to increase the exploitation
of geothermal electricity. In addition, energy efficiency mechanisms,
such as “smart grids” need to be implemented.
Drought and Water Resources
Mexico needs to invest in better water distribution systems between
the northern and southern part of its territory, as well as the
elimination of leakages, and adequate wastewater treatment. Regarding
water consumption, the elimination of the legal requirement
by which non-consumption of water during two consecutive
years leads to cancellation of leftover water volumes during such
period is suggested. Instead, the implementation of clear incentives
regarding water savings is proposed. In addition, the decentralization
of the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) is
recommended in order to enhance transparency relating to water
consumption and wastewater discharges.
Waste Management
Improving waste management in Mexico will result in better
health conditions and greater economic development. It should
consider, among other actions: a) improving the tracking system
of hazardous waste; b) providing incentives to reduce, manage
and dispose of hazardous waste; c) simplifying administrative
procedures and allocating financial resources from fines exclusively
to clean contaminated sites; d) reutilizing hazardous waste

16 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 17
Renewable Energies
and the Reduction
of Gas Emissions
in Mexico
Scientific evidence increasingly points to the severity of climate change, an issue
that has risen to the top of Mexico’s agenda, to the extent that it has permeated
decision-making in various sectors, both public and private.
____
by andrés flores montalvo*
photo courtesy of cfe
Mexico is described as a country “particularly vulnerable”
to climate change, although historically
its greenhouse gas emissions –the most important
human contribution to the problem– have not been
significant. But even though the country’s emissions have been
increasing in both absolute and relative terms and its growth
has outpaced that of developed nations, which have been mainly
responsible for climate change, Mexico accounts for only 1.5% of
annual global emissions.
Thus, it is clear Mexico’s efforts to reduce emissions will be
unavailing unless other countries take on similar or greater work.
Mexico has no binding emission-reduction commitments under
international agreements, yet it has undertaken ambitious actions
to promote efforts on low-emission development based on cleaner
and more efficient practices and technologies, only comparable to
those of the developed and emerging countries.
To a large extent, compliance with emission-reduction targets,
especially higher cost ones, will depend on international assistance
agreed to at multilateral forums, namely carbon market funds
and support mechanisms like the Green Climate Fund, which
Mexico backed relentlessly until its ratification at COP 16 in Cancun
at the end of 2010.
The General Law on Climate Change, –signed by President
Felipe Calderón on June 5, 2012– not only sets out Mexico’s
emission-reduction targets in the medium term, but establishes
a legal precept. Compliance will require efforts on several fronts
to achieve a 30% reduction vis-à-vis a business-as-usual baseline
by 2020, and an absolute reduction of 50% in total greenhouse gas
emissions by 2050, compared to 2000. Renewable sources of energy
are expected to play a significant role in reaching these targets.
In 2008 alone, renewable energies accounted for 12.9% of the
world’s primary energy, while nuclear energy accounted for only two
percent and fossil fuels 85.1% (oil, 34.6%; coal, 28.4%; and gas, 22.1%).
However, despite the international financial crisis, installed capacity
in the renewable energy industry has continued to increase
steadily. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), by the mid-21st century, 80% of the world’s energy
supplies could be obtained from renewable sources, provided the
proper public policies are introduced. Making the transition to
renewable energies is justified not only from an environmental
perspective, but in light of the need to meet growing demand for
energy, particularly by developing countries.
In terms of renewable energy sources, Mexico has enormous
potential. A large part of the country receives extremely high
levels of solar radiation –among the highest in the world– and
small hydroelectric plants have the capacity to meet most of the
demand in communities not connected to the power grid. There
are geothermal fields that have yet to be exploited, areas with high
intensity winds, and potential in sustainable biofuels and generation
of energy from waste.
The National Ecology Institute (INE) has conducted several
studies whose findings support the country’s low-emission development
goals in the medium term. One such study consisted of a
cost-benefit analysis of an extensive portfolio of projects to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. The conclusion was that projects that
provide for the large scale use of renewable technologies are not
In terms of renewable
energy sources, Mexico has
enormous potential. A large
part of the country receives
extremely high levels of
solar radiation –among the
highest in the world.
only viable economically, but beneficial to the country. These
projects promote economic growth and social development, while
protecting the environment and providing energy security.
The latter is deemed a strategic issue for Mexico, where sustainable
development rests on two main pillars: efficient energy
use by all end consumers and diversification of energy sources
to include renewable, sustainable sources that help reduce the
country’s carbon footprint and guarantee energy supplies for its
future development.
The main obstacles to the use of renewable energies in Mexico
are the integration of existing and future energy systems, especially
electricity grids, and cost-benefit factors. Even so, the relative
contribution of renewable energies is on the increase and as
their cost declines, their use becomes more widespread, even in
the absence of incentives. But experience has shown that favorable
policies make all the difference. Consequently, we need to promote
corrective measures to make renewable energies more appealing
and eliminate subsidies on fossil fuels.
Another drawback is that renewable technologies require a
hefty initial outlay, and although they are economically competitive,
production costs are often higher than the market value of the
energy generated. However, if we quantify the environmental externalities
(pollutants and greenhouse gases) in monetary terms,
many of the renewable technologies available have more going for
them than their conventional counterparts.
Public policies that reflect and bear in mind the many economic,
social and environmental benefits of renewable energies
–particularly their potential as a means of reducing greenhouse
gas emissions and atmospheric pollution, and improving
public health– will play a decisive role in the consolidation of
this industry in Mexico. In light of this irrefutable evidence,
Mexico needs to work toward an energy policy that draws on
all its relative advantages, exploits existing opportunities and
promotes the use of renewable energies, aiming to diversify its
energy supplies well into the future. n
*Head of Economic and Environmental Policy Research at the National
Ecology Institute (INE) – Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
(SEMARNAT).

18 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 19
Mexico
and
Renewable
Energy
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared 2012 the
International Year for Sustainable Energy for All with Resolution
65/151. As such, this year has become a valuable opportunity for
raising awareness about the need to increase sustainable access to
energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy in the local, national,
regional and international spheres.
____
by maría cristina rosas*
photo courtesy of siemens
Energy services have a profound effect on productivity,
health, education, climate change, food and water
security and communication services in all societies.
Therefore, the lack of access to non-polluting, affordable
and reliable energy may impede social and economic development
and constitute an important barrier for complying with
the Millennium Development Goals set by the UN, which must
be met by 2015.
At present, nearly 1.4 billion people do not have access to modern
energy, while approximately 3 billion depend on traditional
biomass and coal as their main power sources. Today, we know
that these types of energy sources are finite and will be exhausted
in the near future, which poses serious challenges for global societies.
They are also contaminating energies that compromise
compliance with international commitments designed to reduce
the greenhouse effect. In this sense, the international community
is increasingly emphasizing the need to have renewable energy
that may meet humanity’s power needs in a sustainable way.
Renewable energy is the term applied to what is obtained
from virtually inexhaustible natural resources. Some are characterized
by the enormous amount of energy they contain, while
others are able to regenerate themselves naturally. Renewable
energy sources may be divided into two categories: non-contaminating
or clean, and contaminating. The first category includes
the sun, the wind, rivers and freshwater currents, waves, sea and
ocean currents, the earth’s heat and hydrogen.
Contaminating sources are obtained from organic material
or biomass, and may be used directly as fuel (wood or other solid
plant material), or converted into bioethanol or biogas through
organic fermentation processes, or into biodiesel, through the
transesterification reactions of urban waste.
Energy from contaminating renewable sources has the same
problem as the one produced by fossil fuels: carbon dioxide –a
greenhouse gas– is released through its combustion and is often
more contaminating, because the combustion is not as clean, releasing
soot and other solid particles. However, they are categorized
as renewable energy sources because the released carbon
dioxide may be used for the next generation of organic material.
Energy may also be obtained from urban solid waste, which is
also a contaminant.
Renewable energy offers advantages that are often unappreciated.
Unlike fossil fuels, renewable sources offer a long term
guarantee of stability in energy prices. A price premium must be
paid in order to obtain similar coverage (or hedging) for a fuel.
In fact, hedging for terms as long as those offered by renewable
source technologies (often 25 years or more), does not exist in
the market. This means that renewable energy offers practically
free hedging.
In the social sphere, technologies that use renewable energy
sources promote sustainable regional development with permanent
and better paid employment. They also contribute to improving
quality of life in isolated and highly marginalized areas.

20 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 21
photo courtesy of cfe
Currently, Mexico has an
important installed capacity
to generate electricity from
renewable sources .
Similarly, taking advantage of renewable sources is one
of the best ways to reduce the impact of the energy sector on
the environment, since their use expedites access to diverse
financing schemes and cooperation that are sponsored by different
nations and international organizations.
Recently, the government has passed the Law for the Exploitation
of Renewable Energies and Financing of the Energy Transition,
which is designed to support the range of actors and technologies
involved in renewable energy through the following schemes:
1. Electricity generation through state-owned companies.
2. Electricity generation through private companies (private
enterprise, public enterprise, municipalities and individuals),
especially:
In small or isolated projects that are not viable for
state-owned companies.
In multi-use systems in which energy generation cannot
be separated from the use of other resources.
3. Other technologies from renewable energy sources, such as:
Electricity generation in isolated sites.
Thermal use of solar or geothermal energy.
Wind energy pumps or hydraulic rams.
Biomass-based fuel production (biodiesel and ethanol,
among others).
Clean and efficient woodstoves.
Said law states that the use of renewable energy and clean
technologies is for public benefit and should be promoted as
part of the National Energy Transition Strategy. This strategy is
designed to promote efficient and sustainable energy use to reduce
Mexico’s dependence on hydrocarbons as its main power
source. In its scope, the law expressly omits nuclear energy, hydroelectric
power with a capacity over 30 MW, incinerators or
thermal treatment of any type of waste and the use of sanitary
landfills that do not meet environmental regulations.
In the educational sphere, Mexico shows a growing interest
in the subject of renewable energy, which is reflected in graduate
programs in various universities and research institutes.
For instance, the Center for Energy Research (CIE) of the
National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has been
carrying out research for several years in areas such as solar energy
and geothermal energy; the Electricity Research Institute,
also belonging to the UNAM, includes the alternative energy division
among its lines of research, which is basically focused on
using residual biomass, solar and hydroelectric energy, all with
an emphasis on energy industry services. The recently created
Mario Molina Center is carrying out strategic studies on energy
and the environment, with a focus on atmospheric emissions.
In terms of educational programs, the UNAM’s CIE offers
a Master’s in Engineering, which focuses on solar energy, geothermal
energy and hydrogen technology. Recently, the Autonomous
University of Guadalajara (UAG) began a Master’s degree
in renewable energy focused on studying biofuels and their
performance in engines. Also, there are some undergraduate
offerings in this area, such as the degree in Energy Systems Engineering
at the University of Quintana Roo (UQROO), and the
Energy Engineering program at the Autonomous Metropolitan
University (UAM) in Iztapalapa.
In Mexico, 60% of greenhouse gas emissions come from energy
production, since 90% of it is produced by burning fossil
photo courtesy of siemens
fuels. Projections estimate that the country’s energy consumption
will grow by 3.3% annually, which implies an emissions
increase of 230% before 2030. Therefore, it is essential to work
on energy savings, as well as on a quick and responsible escalation
of Mexico’s renewable power potential. Currently, Mexico
has an important installed capacity to generate electricity from
renewable sources. Yet, there are enormous possibilities for
investment and expansion in the sector –in wind projects alone,
experts estimate that more than 20 billion usd could be invested
over the next 10 years.
Undoubtedly, renewable energy will provide great opportunities
for growth and investment in Mexico. The country is
currently immersed in an energy transition, motivated by the
need to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons and the commitments
it has assumed in the international arena. These two
factors alone, the demand for infrastructure and technology for
generating renewable energy, set out a unique opportunity for
business and investment in the short and medium term. n
*Professor and researcher in the Political and Social Sciences Faculty,
National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
In Mexico, 60% of
greenhouse gas emissions
come from energy
production, since 90% of
it is produced by burning
fossil fuels (...) It is essential
to work on energy savings,
as well as on a quick and
responsible escalation of
Mexico’s renewable
power potential.

22 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 23
Mexico
Renews
Itself
In just a few years, the renewable energy industry has grown and
the outlook for both the public and private sectors is optimistic.
____
by jesús estrada cortés
Renewable energies are finally being taken seriously,
driven by greater environmental awareness and threats
like climate change, together with the commitments
governments have undertaken to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and dwindling fossil fuel reserves. As the world attempts
to clean up its act, Mexico’s industrial sector is attracting more and
more investors eager to participate in green energy projects.
Mexico’s renewable energy industry has grown in leaps and
bounds over the last few years, due to a combination of government
incentive programs and an influx of foreign capital.
According to figures furnished by the Energy Regulatory Commission
(CRE), Mexico’s green industries attracted over 4.77
billion usd in foreign investment between 2005 and 2011. Wind
energy, a sector that has posted sustained growth, accounted for
92% of total investment in renewable energies.
In addition to private investment, Ministry of Energy (SENER)
tenders for infrastructure projects to hook up generators of clean
electricity to the national grid brought in an extra 3.3 billion usd
between 2010 and 2011.
“To date, installed wind capacity is 1,100 megawatts (MW),
which is substantial if we consider the country’s total installed capacity
is 54,000 MW. In other words, wind farms account for two
percent of all the electricity Mexico generates. We estimate that
in a year or so, this figure will have doubled and that by 2015, our
wind farms will generate around 4,000 MW,” says Leopoldo Rodríguez
Olivé, president of the Mexican Wind Energy Association
(AMDEE), who believes this increase in installed wind capacity is
a good indicator of the health of the industry.
In 2005, Mexico’s wind capacity was barely 2 MW, but
had jumped to 85 MW the following year when the first wind
project was implemented by the Federal Electricity Commission
(CFE). The private sector began participating in 2009,
pushing installed capacity up to 519 MW in 2010, and again to
1,100 MW in 2012.
According to a study conducted by AMDEE, Mexico could
feasibly increase installed capacity to 12,000 MW by 2020, allowing
the country to reach many of its renewable energy and
emission reduction targets.
There are several mechanisms under which the private sector
can participate in Mexico’s wind energy business. “First,
there are the companies that generate electricity. Under Mexican
law, a private entity cannot sell electricity directly to another
private entity, but can only generate it for self-supply purposes.
The other way of participating is via CFE tenders, under
which companies sell electricity to the government at an agreed
price. About 40% of wind energy projects in Mexico operate
under this mechanism, while the rest are self-supply projects,”
says Rodríguez Olivé.
As the industry expands, costs have become more competitive,
making renewable energies more attractive to private investors.
Depending on the region the project is located in and the financing
conditions it operates under, costs “can be as low as 6.5 to
10 cents on the usd per kWh, which is competitive compared to
commercial and industrial rates, which are the lowest,” says Rodríguez
Olivé, adding that “wind energy is already a competitive
technology that offers an interesting alternative.”
photo courtesy of cfe

24 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 25
Mexico’s renewable energy
industry has grown in leaps
and bounds over the last few
years, due to a combination
of government incentive
programs and an influx of
foreign capital.
photo archive
“The heftiest cost in a wind project is the turbine and few are
made in Mexico. They are generally imported. We’ve received
equipment from Denmark, Spain and the US.” This, says Rodríguez
Olivé, opens up investment opportunities for equipment
developers and manufacturers for the wind industry.
The challenge, he says, is twofold: “to improve transmission
infrastructure, so the grid reaches places where the wind is strong
enough to generate electricity, and promote the development
and growth of small-scale producers so more generation projects
spring up around the country.”
A Bright Business
The solar energy industry in Mexico has “a positive outlook in
terms of the development of a market on which natural, environmental
and other factors have come together with increased
supply, resulting in more accessible prices,” says Alberto Valdés,
president of the National Committee for Energy Regulation and
deputy editor for the National Solar Energy Association (ANES).
Solar water heating systems designed for residential and commercial
use are one niche that has grown considerably. This
expansion can partly be attributed to “financial mechanisms for
residential developments that provide for solar thermal energy
systems, like the Green Mortgage program implemented by the
National Workers’ Housing Fund Institute (INFONAVIT),” which
has already equipped around 120,000 homes with solar water
heaters. Now all homes mortgaged via INFONAVIT are required
to have solar water heaters and comply with related regulations.
Aside from federal programs, several states have introduced initiatives
to promote the use of solar energy. The Mexico City government
“has issued environmental regulations requiring all businesses
that provide hot water, such as restaurants and gyms, to heat at least
30% of their supplies using solar energy,” says Valdés. As a result, the
number of industries participating in the sector –from manufacturers
to distributors of solar water heating systems– has grown.
Installed capacity is an excellent way to measure the extent
to which the industry has expanded. According to Valdés, there
are now 1.66 million square meters of solar water heaters installed
in Mexico compared to between 250,000 and 300,000
square meters 10 years ago. “We are excited about the future.
The goal of the National Solar Water Heater Program implemented
by the Ministry of Economy (SE) and the National
Commission for Efficient Energy Use (CONAE) is to close 2013
with 2.5 million square meters, while the target for 2020 is 23.5
million square meters.”
The other important niche is “interaction with the government,
which covers alternative methods of capturing solar
energy, like photovoltaic and wind energy systems, both of
which can be hooked up to the electricity grid,” says Valdés,
who is quick to point out that, under Mexican law, electricity
cannot be generated by private entities for sale to other private
entities. “What the law allows you to do is generate your own
electricity and transmit it to the grid in exchange for what you
consume.”
Mexico has 510,000 high energy domestic users, but if they
“simply purchased a photovoltaic system to avoid using electricity
during peak hours, they could save money on their electricity
bills,” says Valdés.
But there are still other niches to explore, like solar-powered
transport systems covering short, local routes of 10 to 15 kilometers,
says Valdés, adding that “large generators connected
to the grid are another area of opportunity, because the price
of photovoltaic electricity is dropping […] we now have a commercial
tariff of 1.30 to 1.40 usd per watt, while rates for thermoelectric
generators are in the region of 1 usd per watt. This
means we are very close to matching conventional rates.”
Nature’s Boons
AMDEE president Leopoldo Rodríguez Olivé believes Mexico
has several competitive advantages in the wind energy industry.
“Aside from regulatory incentives, we have something few other
countries have: places with winds so strong they can generate
from 30% to 100% more electricity than other parts of the
world. This increased generating power compensates for subsidies
and makes Mexico more attractive to investors.”
Furthermore, the country’s “legal and regulatory framework
is considered solid and there are good financing options.”
From the standpoint of the solar energy industry, Alberto
Valdés says that Mexico’s geographical location constitutes its
greatest advantage in terms of solar radiation. In the Northwest
alone, solar radiation can exceed 6 kWh per square meter a day,
while the rest of the country receives an average of 4.5 to 6 kWh.
Other factors that have facilitated the development of the
industry in Mexico include “legislation for the installation of
solar water heating systems, and the possibility of hooking up
to the electricity grid,” says Valdés.
Plus, “we have a Regulatory and Evaluation Committee to
ensure all solar heating systems sold here comply with international
standards.”
Backed by a solid legal framework and government programs,
it seems Mexico’s renewable energy industry is well positioned
to harness the inexhaustible forces of nature and can
look forward to a bright and breezy future. n

26 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 27
In Search
of the
Perfect Storm
México Power Group is propelling radical change in the energy
industry. After sweeping in on northern winds, its turbines now spin
in the far south.
____
by omar magaña
photo courtesy of cannon power group
The Law for the Exploitation of Renewable Energies and
Financing of the Energy Transition (LAERFTE) was the
spark that ignited a new and sprightly industry in Mexico.
Announced in 2009 by the Ministry of Energy (SENER),
the new law invites the private sector to participate in mechanisms
for the planned, sustainable consumption and generation of nonfossil-fuel
energy, i.e. energy obtained from renewable sources such
as the wind, sun, water and biomass.
This broadened the horizons of Cannon Power Group, a California-based
company specializing in wind farms that had previously
been restricted to exporting the electricity generated by La Rumorosa
wind farm, in Tecate, Baja California to the US. Now it is free to
sell the energy it generates in Mexico on the domestic market, and
what better incentive to increase production capacity.
Cannon Power Group and its partner, Coram Energy Corporation,
both have 30 years’ experience in the development of wind
projects worldwide. In July 2011, they decided to grant their Mexican
office greater autonomy. The result was the founding of a new
company –México Power Group– with John Prock as CEO.
“The new legislation introduced by the Mexican government
changed our approach and outlook. Now it makes more sense for us
to supply companies and government entities here in Mexico with
our green energy,” says Prock.
México Power Group had barely incorporated when its board
chairman, Gerald Monkhouse (also board chairman of Cannon
Power Group), president Brian O’Sullivan and CEO John Prock
announced their first major investment in Mexico: 2.5 billion usd
for the construction of three wind farms –one in Baja California,
a second in Zacatecas and a third in Quintana Roo– which will
produce a total of 312 megawatts (MW) during their first phase
of operations.
The Promised Land
The sheer magnitude of this outlay by México Power Group indicates
the course Mexico is taking as the second-largest recipient
of investment in the wind energy sector in Latin America, outdone
only by Brazil, which has embarked on a race to cover the entire
country with turbines.
According to studies conducted by the industry worldwide, all
both countries were lacking was a regulatory framework to clarify
the rules for private sector participation in the generation and
transmission of clean electricity.
As such, LAERFTE constitutes a huge step forward for Mexico,
by defining mechanisms for the transmission of wind-generated
and other renewable sources of electricity via the Federal Electricity
Commission (CFE) grid, and generation models that allow for
private sector participation.
In its 2011 Global Wind Report, the Global Wind Energy
Council (GWEC) mentions some of the most significant changes
that took place in Mexico in that year: new transmission points
were installed in Oaxaca –Mexico’s windiest state–, the price
of turbines fell, leading wind generator developers (Acciona,
Vestas, Gamesa and Clipper) entered the domestic market and
financing became more available.
Meanwhile, SENER is seeking to promote the generation of
clean electricity and a gradual reduction in transmission costs by
developing new interconnection models and entering into agreements
with generators.
It was back in 2010 when Mexico set itself the goal of increasing
its total installed capacity for wind-generated electricity in a very
short timeframe. That year, 316 MW were added to extant output at
wind farms in Oaxaca and a handful of other sites around the country,
closing the year at 519 MW. By 2011, this figure had risen to 873
MW and in all likelihood will have reached 1 gigawatt (GW) by the
time you read this, putting the country well on track to its goal of 3.5
GW by year-end 2015.
Baja California, Where the
Winds of Change Blow
A large portion of investment in Mexico’s wind energy industry
ends up in Baja California, specifically the mountainous areas of the
Sierra de Juárez, on the Mexico-US border.
This is where the strongest winds and the largest projects can
be found, each with an estimated production capacity of 1,000 MW.
“Cannon Power Group has been keeping a close eye on this area
for the last 16 years, and began working closely with communities
in the vicinity of La Rumorosa as far back as 2006, with a view to
exporting electricity to the US,” says Prock.
In 2007, the company sold a 250-MW generation project to
Sempra Generation under a co-development agreement in the community
of Jacume, in the middle of the Sierra de Juárez. A year later,
it purchased an additional 20,000 hectares in the area, according to
information published on its website.
In July 2011, Cannon Power
Group and Coram Energy
Corporation decided to grant
their Mexican office greater
autonomy. The result was
México Power Group.
Then, in 2010, Cannon Power Group entered into an alliance
with wind-generator manufacturer Gamesa, to build a 32,000-hectare
wind farm in Aubanel Vallejo, which is currently managed by
México Power Group. During the first phase of the project, México
Power Group will occupy only 750 hectares and will produce 72
MW, although total capacity is estimated at 1 GW.
“We are waiting for the perfect storm, a situation in which the
natural resource –the wind–, transmission lines at our disposal and
customers for the electricity we generate come together,” says Prock.
México Power Group is still negotiating permits for its project in
Baja California, under which it will export electricity, supply crossborder
assembly plants and provide street lighting for the municipalities
of Tecate, Rosarito, Ensenada and Tijuana.
Substantial progress has also been made on the other two sites
covered by the investment announced in 2011. During an initial phase,
60 MW will be generated on 3,400 of the 6,000 hectares the company
owns on the island of Cozumel in Quintana Roo, and another 180 MW
on 1,500 of the 6,500 hectares it owns in La Bufa, Zacatecas.
Trees and Turbines
As Far As the Eye Can See
Even when renewable energies represent an a priori green alternative
to fossil fuels, companies like México Power Group need to
ensure their activities have a minimal impact on the environment
and wildlife habitats.
“Since green energy is our only business, we want to protect the
environment. The impact on the land is less than 2%; if it is common
land or is being used for something else, it can still be used for
that purpose,” says Prock, adding that during the first phase of the
Aubanel Vallejo project in Baja California, the company will pay 1
million usd a year for usufruct of the land where the wind turbines
are to be installed, even though they will not necessarily interfere
with the land’s current use.
In response to concerns voiced by environmentalists about
the impact on birdlife, Prock said that the turbines México Power
Group plans to install are fitted with new generation rotor blades
that have a larger diameter and are just as effective at capturing
wind energy, but that spin at a reduced speed of 15 revolutions per
minute (rpm) and are therefore less disruptive to birds.
Prock is confident Mexico will continue to make progress
on the legislative front. And as a pioneering force in the energy
revolution that’s already on its doorstep, México Power Group
hopes this progress will eventually afford private sector players
greater freedom to generate and sell electricity without the need
for a middleman. n
www.mexicopowergroup.com

28 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 29
Turning Up
the Heat
on America
A leading manufacturer of solar collectors,
Austrian company Kioto Clear Energy has
discovered an excellent business opportunity
under the Mexican sun.
____
by sandra roblágui
photos courtesy of kioto clear energy
Mexico is harnessing the world’s oldest source of energy
in what is turning out to be a hot business venture.
Three years ago, Kioto Clear Energy, a leading
manufacturer of solar collectors, began soaking up
the sun’s rays in El Salto, Jalisco. This industrial city in Western
Mexico is like a second home to Kioto, boasting the company’s only
production line outside its native Austria.
The story of this multinational literally began in Robert
Kanduth’s backyard, in Austria. Kanduth devised and perfected
a system that could absorb the sun’s energy and use it to heat
water. By 1991, his invention was already on the market. Kanduth
named his company Kioto Clear Energy after the Kyoto Protocol,
aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating global
warming.
Just three years later, in 1994, operations were moved to a
modern 900-square-meter factory specializing in the industrial
manufacture of solar collectors. This is where the GREENoneTEC
product line was born, the same brand that would later become the
leading distributor of solar collectors on the European market. By
2008, the company was exporting parts and finished products to
over 40 countries, and had a facility with an annual production
capacity of 150,000 square meters of solar panels.
As the company looked to expand abroad, Mexico was the
number one choice. The ball began to roll in July 2009 with an initial
investment of 4 million euros in a 3,000-square-meter factory
that employs around 50 people in the manufacture of solar collectors
for residential and industrial use.
Why Mexico? There are several reasons. The country is blessed
with sunny weather nearly all year round, which translates into a
steaming hot domestic market for a company that manufactures
solar-powered water heaters, says director of Kioto’s Mexican
operations, Arturo Meléndez Govea.
The company produces 23,000 square meters of solar collectors
a year in Mexico, while 7 out of every 10 square meters manufactured
are exported.
According to Meléndez, “Mexico is strategically located and has
efficient logistical infrastructure that facilitates exports to the US,
Canada and Central and South America. Mexico also has political
stability and workers skilled in trades like soldering, for example,
which our industry demands.”
From its base in Western Mexico, Kioto Clear Energy exports
components to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) throughout
the continent, which are incorporated in the firms’ brands.
The sun has continued to shine on the business, especially in
the US, where the bulk of Kioto’s output ends up. Here, the “heart”
of Kioto’s collectors –a laser-soldered aluminum and copper grille
that offers an unbeatable quality-price ratio– has been welcomed
with open arms.
Kioto doesn’t just make solar panels for Mexico and other
Latin American countries like Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru,
Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Panama, Uruguay and Paraguay, but
entire systems that include tanks, pumps and valves. “We are
in alliance with the top clients on each market,” says Meléndez
with satisfaction.
Growth in Mexico has been exponential, just as occurred in
Kioto’s native Austria. In addition to its foreign sales, the company
supplies solar water heating systems for a range of private
and public sector entities, allowing them to make substantial
savings while contributing to climate change mitigation efforts.
These systems have a useful life of a decade on paper, but their
real life expectancy is closer to 25 years.
Among Kioto’s government clients are two state penitentiaries,
one in Durango and another in Michoacán, where the
company has installed more than 100 systems –each one with
the capacity to heat up 3,000 liters of water– to heat more than
300,000 liters of water per day.
Another important niche is the housing sector, where Kioto is
working hand in hand with construction firms and the Mexican
From its base in Western Mexico, Kioto
Clear Energy exports components to
OEMs throughout the continent, which are
incorporated in the firms’ brands.
government to promote the incorporation of its environmentallyfriendly
technology in government-subsidized homes. Under the
Green Mortgage (Hipoteca Verde) program, Kioto has contracts for
the installation of 5,000 top quality systems before year-end 2012.
“What you can find in Austria, you can find in Mexico, except
that it is cheaper on the latter,” says Meléndez, adding that any
company that uses hot water in its processes –tequila distilleries,
milk pasteurizing plants, slaughterhouses, agricultural and
pharmaceutical companies, among others– can benefit from the
system. And judging from its expansion strategy for 2013, Kioto
plans to serve them all with clean energy produced with the help
of the Mexican sun. n
www.kioto.com

30 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 31
Siliken,
Basking in
the Sun of a
Burgeoning
Business
The Spanish-based multinational Siliken
has found in Mexico a sunny future for its
photovoltaic solar panel business.
____
by sandra roblágui
photo courtesy of siliken
Manufacturers of solar panels are gathering around
Mexico like moths to a flame. Not only does the country
offer competitive manufacturing conditions and
skilled labor for this business sector, but it has high
levels of solar radiation and a communications network that facilitates
distribution on both the domestic and export markets, says
Manuel Vegara Llanes, Director of Business Development in Latin
America for the Spanish-based multinational Siliken.
This explains why the company has opted to expand its production
facility in Tijuana, a city on Mexico’s northwest border with
the US, and is currently working on a large-scale project for the
construction and operation of a solar farm in Durango. Siliken also
plans to manufacture equipment and components for the domestic
and international markets.
Durango Solar is the name of the solar farm that will have an
installed capacity of 100 MW, making it the largest of its kind in
the world and Siliken’s most important project in Mexico, says
Vegara Llanes.
A start-up investment of 70 million usd will get the farm up and
running with an initial capacity of 30 MW, after which two business
areas will be added: a facility for the manufacture of photovoltaic
solar panels in Durango and a solar farm in the municipality
of Canatlán, also in Durango, one of the country’s largest states.
The Durango Solar project enjoys the support of the state government,
which has granted it the use of 303 hectares in the J. Guadalupe
Aguilera cooperative in Canatlán under a gratuitous loan agreement.
Siliken is in no doubt that the farm will be a success and is already
negotiating the sale of the green energy it will generate with
major public and private sector consumers, in addition to long-term
electricity supply agreements with large Mexican corporations.
Durango Solar is a new venture, completely independent of Siliken’s
existing plant in Tijuana, Baja California, which remains the logistical
arm of its component manufacturing operations in America.
This is where the company first began operating in Mexico in
February 2011, with two production lines for the manufacture of
shelter-type photovoltaic modules. Shortly afterwards, three new
production lines were added to meet demand. These five production
lines, which employ about 300 people and are currently working
at their full combined capacity of 100 MW, were installed at a
total cost of 25 million usd.
One of these production lines is specially designed to manufacture
large photovoltaic modules whose increased capacity –above
300 MW– reduces installation costs, since fewer are needed to
generate the same amount of electricity.
In Mexico, Siliken is working closely with agencies like
ProMéxico to attract foreign investment, and has its own sales
team that renders sales and post-sale services to installers of photovoltaic
systems.
According to Vegara Llanes, “Siliken is active in the manufacture
of Mexican-made renewable technologies, the development
of solar farms for the generation of electricity and the distribution
of photovoltaic products.”
Durango Solar is the name
of the solar farm that will
have an installed capacity
of 100 MW, making it the
largest of its kind in the
world and Siliken’s most
important project in Mexico,
says Vegara Llanes.
Just recently, he continues, the company was selected as the
exclusive supplier of 8,700 panels (2.5 MW) for Spanish multinational
Iberdrola’s solar farm in Cerro Prieto, Baja California.
The farm will be run by the Federal Electricity Commission
(CFE), which supplies electricity to most of the country, and will
serve as a benchmark for parallel future projects. “This is the first
time a project of such dimensions has been undertaken in Mexico, so
it will be a learning experience for both us and the CFE,” says Vegara.
Meanwhile, Siliken aims to take an even larger slice of the
Mexican market for photovoltaic products and the development of
large-scale solar systems for the generation and sale of electricity.
In Vegara’s opinion, if Siliken continues to be in orbit, it could
well become the undisputed leader of Mexico’s solar energy sector,
while contributing to the development of a green-jobs industry.
Siliken is already contributing to the country’s sustainable
development alongside the National Workers’ Housing Fund Institute
(INFONAVIT), for which it has developed a photovoltaic
kit at an accessible cost of approximately 750 usd to the final user,
allowing millions of families to save on their electricity bills by
simply installing a solar roof panel.
This is just the beginning of what is shaping up to be a sunny
future for Siliken in a country where it has received a warm welcome,
and where the possibilities are as infinite as the universe,
beyond the solar system. n
www.siliken.com

32 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 33
The
Effervescence
of the Sun
In operation since 2009 and with distributors throughout the country, Conermex
is responsible for providing solar panels that generate a total of 3.5 million watts
per year in Mexico.
____
by gustavo aréchiga
photos courtesy of conermex
In recent years, Mexico has been able to project itself to the
world as a country where the sun’s possibilities are practically
endless; it is fertile ground for renewable resources par
excellence.
Claudio Estrada Gasca, Director of the Center for Energy
Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico
(UNAM), is confident that the sun could supply all of the country’s
electricity needs by using only 0.14% of the surface area of two of
its sun-soaked states: Chihuahua and Sonora.
In order for this to happen, several years of effort and resources
are needed to acquire solar panels and cutting-edge technology.
But Mexico is heading in the right direction, as Conermex, a manufacturer
of solar energy systems and components, senses.
The company designs everything from small systems for isolated
applications to enormous projects for industrial use.
For instance, it was responsible for the pump systems that supply
water to indigenous communities in Mexico, numerous oil platform
projects with Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), and the Interconnected
System that is linked to the conventional network in Teya, Yucatán.
In 2010, it was also responsible for the solar technology used in the
interconnection project to provide lighting for Juarez Park, in Puebla.
One of its most successful projects, due to its size, is the
photovoltaic system for the Zacatecas Council of Science,
Technology and Innovation (COZCYT). A power plant in essence,
it functions by converting solar light into electricity,
adapting it or connecting it to the electricity network for regular
consumption. Thus, the solar complex became the seventh
largest in the country with a production capacity of 180 kilowatts
(kW), allowing it to provide energy for four government
entities and annual savings of 1 million pesos.
The company
designs
everything from
small systems
for isolated
applications to
enormous projects
for industrial use.
“We don’t manufacture panels per se; we provide our engineering
experience and build solar panel packages. We are an integrator
and we advise our clients so that they can receive the greatest
benefit from their projects,” explains Francisco Solís, Business
Director at Conermex.
“We serve two large segments: the market that is connected
to the electricity network and the one that is off-grid. In the connected
market you can interact with the external energy network,
which is the one with the greatest growth in Mexico. Whereas in
the isolated system market you work with completely independent
and specific panels, like those found in a country house or an
ecotourism hotel that is far away from the electricity network, a
solar platform,” Solís explains.
According to Solís, Mexico’s main market had been in isolated systems,
until in 2007 the government passed the Law for the Exploitation
of Renewable Energies and Financing of the Energy Transition,
in order to regulate solar equipment connected to the public network.
At present, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) does not
purchase the energy produced by private individuals or companies,
but it is still an attractive way to generate a self-sustaining
electricity resource.
“In Mexico, many foreign and national companies want to generate
clean energy. So, if we’re talking about a context, the market
with the greatest growth for Conermex has been the equipment
that is interconnected to the CFE network. Eighty percent of our
sales come from the interactive CFE market and 20% from the
independent market,” adds Solís.
For industrial customers, Conermex builds product packages
that include panels, load controllers, lamps and refrigerators with
special characteristics, supports for solar modules and water
pumps that work by using solar energy.
In terms of the domestic market, Conermex offers specific
products: solar panel kits that are completely modular and can
grow one by one as household needs increase. They can also be
checked online using a monitoring device, which can be purchased
separately.
Conermex wants to meet the needs of people seeking to save
money and energy in their homes. The 220 economical homes
with solar panels that were installed in Mexicali, Baja California
are a clear example of this.
“This is not a very large line of business, it’s not gigantic, the national
sales volume is not that high, but our involvement is prominent
and at the same time, we are preparing ourselves to meet the
coming growth. We are witnessing effervescence in Mexico’s solar
market,” Solís says.
“The strategy that we have practiced will be available for those
looking for ways to save energy. In terms of housing developments,
I still don’t see anyone betting on that type of technology directly;
however, what I do know is that they are financing the energy system
through a housing credit, which represents progress,” he adds.
In total, Conermex sales tripled from 2010 to 2011, with rapid
growth. This increase is a symptom of the global renewable energy
industry, since the trend is to substitute contaminant sources for
new technologies.
In 2008, the world’s electricity consumption totaled 15 terawatts
(TW) and is expected to grow to 30 TW by 2050. The only
sources that could meet these demands are renewable, the sun
being one of the most important.
“You can feel it in the media, in the people, that the subject of
energy is relevant. On the other hand, the costs of conventional
fossil fuel energy are not only more expensive, but also more difficult
to access. So the alternatives are trendy, but they also represent
an important development target,” Solís says.
In Mexico alone, an estimated 10 and 15 MW of electricity
were displaced through solar technology this year, a figure that is
expected to double in coming years. n
conermex.com

34 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 35
Soaking Up
the Advantages
of a Sunny Country
One more point must be added in Mexico’s favor: the intense and continuous solar radiation
that the territory receives all year long. The sun is what will drive the new electrical energy
generation strategies toward a future with lower fossil fuel consumption.
____
by omar magaña
photos courtesy of energías renovables de méxico
Although solar energy
projects are still considered
expensive, especially
photovoltaic, ERDM
has demonstrated their
feasibility in communities
where it is technically
difficult –if not impossible–
to bring in the CFE network.
A
YouTube video posted by solar panel manufacturer
Energías Renovables de México (ERDM) presents a
peerless narrative of its pioneering work in promoting
photovoltaic energy in Mexico.
The camera documents the process of delivering dozens of
photovoltaic modules that were assembled by ERDM in its plant in
San Andrés Tuxtla, Veracruz, to the fishing community of Martín
Prieto, in the Veracruz municipality of Alvarado.
Delivering island system panels, which have their own energy
converter and battery that provide users with direct electricity
without needing a connection to the Federal Electricity Commission
(CFE) network, seems difficult: fishermen and technicians
transport modules and solar refrigerators on fishing boats that
navigate the waters of the Papaloapan River to complete the delivery
and begin the installation of the technology that will radically
change the lives of Martín Prieto’s inhabitants: the residents will
have electricity in their homes.
“ERDM grew out of the necessity of certain areas of the country
where it is difficult to access electric power. The company has specialized
in island systems that use battery backup for communities
that do not have access to the national electricity network,” says
Vladimir Ruiz, an engineer who is the company’s Project Manager.
Although solar energy projects are still considered expensive,
especially photovoltaic, ERDM has demonstrated their feasibility
in communities where it is technically difficult –if not impossible–
to bring in the CFE network.
The investment in photovoltaic modules in Martín Prieto came
to 2 million pesos (around 150,000 usd), compared to the over 30
million pesos (close to 2.25 million usd) it would have cost to make
the CFE connection, according to calculations by Vladimir Ruiz.
A Sun-Soaked Country
The tourists that arrive in Mexico from around the world are not
mistaken: the country is enviably sunny almost all year-round.
According to figures furnished by the Special Program for
the Exploitation of Renewable Energies published by the Ministry
of Energy (SENER), Mexico has an average annual radiation
of 5 kilowatts/hour (kWh) per square meter –with an index
of 4.4 kWh per square meter in the center of the country and 6.3
in the north.
Sonora, Chihuahua and the Baja California peninsula hold the
highest potential for generating electricity by taking advantage
of solar radiation, due to their vast size and weather conditions
throughout the year.
The SENER document recognizes that taking advantage of
such a renewable, clean and endless energy –the sun will be
around for several million years yet– has barely been explored; it
estimates Mexico’s installed capacity at 18.5 MW, which produces
8,794 megawatts/hour (MWh) per year.
“Globally, the generation capacity of photovoltaic cells is
around 6,000 MW, installed mainly in Germany, Japan and the
US,” reveals the report, based on data from the International Energy
Agency (IEA).
Indeed, the greatest use of photovoltaic technologies in Mexico
has been in rural communities like Martín Prieto, in Veracruz. According
to ERDM estimates, there are approximately 7 million people
who live in areas without access to the CFE network, says Ruiz.
Photovoltaic Energy Takes Center Stage
ERDM is trying to gain influence on another important front: the
consolidation of photovoltaic projects with a CFE interconnection.
The company, which was founded almost 10 years ago by two
German partners, discovered new development possibilities in
Mexico after the Law for the Exploitation of Renewable Energies
and Financing of the Energy Transition (LAERFTE) was signed
toward the end of the last decade.
Since then, ERDM has sold photovoltaic technology –modules
that are assembled in Mexico from components manufactured in
Germany, Austria, the US and Canada– to the National Forestry
Commission (CONAFOR), the Grupo México mining corporation,
the National Workers’ Housing Fund Institute (INFONAVIT), the
Lázaro Cardenas port terminal, the San Isidro mill, hotels, schools
and social assistance housing builders.
“This is only a small step. We believe that much more is needed
to really boost the photovoltaic industry,” says Ruiz, who considers
that with the announcement of LAERFTE, agreements and adjustments
will be generated in Mexico to advance toward that goal.
An important step would be for industry and citizens to decide
to implement this technology in factories, offices and homes.
According to Ruiz, in order for this to happen, the price of the
technology must decrease, as well as the generating cost for each
kWh and its sale price.
For the Mexican market, Ruiz says it is important to know how
long it will take to recoup the initial investment that, when dealing
with large-scale projects, is obviously a considerable figure for a
company’s finance department.
ERDM’s strategy is to highlight the contributions of private
individuals to the environment by reducing contaminants derived
from fossil fuels, and emphasizing the future savings in the
monthly electricity bill.
Those at ERDM are definitely aware that, in the short term, there
will be a boom in photovoltaic energy in Mexico, and the company is
betting on being part of that scenario.
“Our philosophy is to offer highly competitive prices with high
quality products, given our need to guarantee that they will produce
energy for more than 20 or 25 years,” says Ruiz. “We consider
ourselves to be well placed in the market, we have a family of
more than 200 business partners and we are in partnership with
a very large German company that also manufactures panels
there –Biosun– to be able to make large-scale plants,” he adds. n
erdm-solar.com

36 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 37
The
Renewable
World of GE
At present, GE is in the
process of executing its first
large-scale wind project in
Mexico, a wind farm in the
southern part of Monterrey,
Nuevo León, where eight
GE wind turbines will be
installed to supply energy to
several municipalities.
Since it first came to Mexico, General Electric has
been an engineering pioneer. Now, this US company
leads efforts in renewable energy technologies
through its three divisions: GE Power & Water, GE
Energy Management and GE Oil & Gas.
____
by gustavo aréchiga
photos courtesy of ge
In less than 80 years, humanity has taken a quantum leap
regarding the way people use certain resources for survival.
Even though there is still a long way to go, the race towards
renewable energies has already begun.
General Electric (GE), which began manufacturing electric
light bulbs in 1896, has the proof that this trend is irreversible.
For this reason, the company created GE Energy, a division that
focuses on green technology and that has thrown amazing results.
This branch began operations in Mexico in 1929, and now has 21
plants, 8 service centers and 35,000 employees in the country.
This GE division involves three business cells: GE Power &
Water, GE Energy Management and GE Oil & Gas. With this structure,
it covers the entire spectrum of the Latin American green
trend and the manufacture of green products.
Its results are tangible; to date, more than 80 projects from the GE
portfolio have been certified as low energy consumption products.
Two essential examples of GE Energy technology are the carbon
cleaning process, or the Integrated Gasification Combined
Cycle, which uses less water to produce cleaner fuel with lower
emissions; and wind generators. Their combined benefit adds up
to 18.3 million tons of greenhouse gases per year that are no longer
being released into the environment –an amount similar to that
released by more than 3 million cars.
Both cases are relevant to Mexico, since GE Energy’s operations
in the country also include Ecomagination, a platform of
innovation and scientific research that leverages the company’s
green products.
Ecomagination represents GE’s global commitment to imagine
and build solutions that solve current environmental challenges
and benefit clients and society in general.
An Ecomagination premise indicates that a company’s financial
performance may be integrated with ecology, in order to accelerate
its profit growth. GE knows that Mexico provides fertile
ground for driving this long-range vision.
“Mexico is fortunate to be a country that boasts strong winds and
intense solar radiation year-round. It also has a government that recognizes
the advantages of investing in efficient and renewable energy,
where laws and incentives have been implemented. A good country,
good resources and a good government that is sending investment
signals towards this sector,” says Robert Pérez, Director of GE Energy.
According to Pérez, one of the company’s key business lines is
wind energy –GE is a world leader in this sector, to the extent that
it turns on one new wind turbine generator approximately every
three hours.
Wind is so important to GE that since it entered the industry
through its acquisition of Enron Wind 10 years ago, it has installed
18,000 turbines and has increased the worldwide business capacity
from 500 MW to 28 gigawatts (GW).
A few months ago, Vic Abate, Vice President of GE’s Energía
Renovable, said that “In the last decade, the company has invested
2 billion usd in the wind industry. This investment has transformed
the industry while making wind an energy source that is
renewable, reliable, competitive and carbon-free.”
At present, GE is in the process of executing its first large-scale
wind project in Mexico. It has set up a wind farm in the southern
part of Monterrey, Nuevo León in the municipality of Santa Catarina,
with a production capacity of 22 MW. There, with an investment
of 48 million usd, Next Energy México will install eight GE
wind turbines of 103 meters of diameter that will supply energy to
the municipalities of Monterrey, Santa Catarina, Escobedo, Apodaca,
García and Los Ramones, through a 20-year contract.
None of this could be self-sustaining without a consistent
research effort. In Mexico, GE Energy guarantees its leadership
through the Center for Advanced Engineering (GEIQ), which has
been located in Querétaro since 1999. It is the largest complex in
Mexico, home to approximately 1,400 engineers.
The Center focuses on designing airplane and energy generation
turbines, and currently works alongside academic institutions
in seven Master’s programs and one PhD program.
“GE did not have a clear expectation of what this Engineering
Center would be. But the quality of the engineering and the personnel
was very good, so as the decade progressed, it extended substantially
until it reached the current number of engineers,” says Pérez.
Other projects that GE is working on in Mexico are related to
the generation of efficient energy through biogas and biomass. As
stated by Pérez, the country produces approximately 500 MW per
year by converting sugar cane waste into electricity.
In addition, the company is working on high-efficiency cogeneration
through natural gas turbines, and supplies solar panels and
equipment for residential and industrial use.
Another project which was announced recently involves the
two aeroderivative gas turbines to generate electricity that GE will
install in the new ALPEK Petrochemical Complex plant in Veracruz,
in collaboration with the Mexican government.
Furthermore, GE has just launched its WattStation Connect,
an application that will facilitate the administration of everything
related to recharging electric vehicles –from the car’s charge percentage
to remotely activating the charger and finding out the electricity
rate at a given time. According to company estimates, 25%
of vehicles circulating worldwide will be electric or connectable
by 2020, while 90% of them will be fully functional without fossil
fuels by 2040. Some WattStation Connect sites are already in
place in Mexico, mainly in Mexico City and Aguascalientes, as a result
of agreements signed between Nissan and local governments.
GE Energy offers products and services in more than 120 countries.
In Mexico, it has been in operation for more than 90 years
and the company is determined to continue playing a leading role
in the country’s energy history. n
www.ge-energy.com

38 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 39
A Green Industry,
a Compatible
Company
Siemens began its work in Mexico over 118 years ago, when it lit up the
emblematic Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City. Today, the company
has more than 8,000 employees and is at the forefront of implementing
green technologies for industrial use.
____
by gustavo aréchiga
photos courtesy of siemens
The transition towards a carbon-free economy is the greatest
industrial challenge of this century; a challenge that
requires radical changes at every level, from the manufacture
of more efficient individual components, to the
development of comprehensive, environmentally-friendly solutions.
For Barbara Kux, Sustainability Manager and Managing Board
Member of Siemens, this pressing need can be summed up in one
sentence: reinventing the entire industrial infrastructure. The
whole deal? Yes.
“While economic volatility can distract us and the slow negotiations
on climate change can discourage us, this is a goal we cannot
lose sight of. There is a huge incentive to tackle this challenge:
investments in energy efficiency often pay for themselves in the
short term and growth in green markets and renewable energies
proves a promising business case for our clients,” affirms Kux.
In this light, Siemens has integrated renewable energies into its
product portfolio.
Since its foundation, more than 160 years ago, the company’s
philosophy has been to create sustainable value through solutions
and services, which offer clients security and innovation in strategic
areas.
To remain consistent with its strategies, Siemens unveiled a
sustainable corporate building on June 4, 2012 named “Two Patios”,
in the Polanco district of Mexico City.
The company’s new headquarters comprises 17,000 square meters
of office space, required an investment of over 10 million usd
and will be the first building in Mexico to receive a double certification
in Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED).
With this new building, Siemens seeks to prove that environmental
protection and corporate profitability are two factors
that can go together. As an example, the new offices have
105,000 LED light bulbs, which will allow a reduction of over
30% in electrical energy consumption, with a maximum illumination
of 8 watts per square meter.
While Siemens is putting its house in order to adapt to the
new challenges of the 21st century, its energy department is
undertaking important business ventures. Siemens Energy recently
won a contract to supply a SGT-750 class industrial gas
turbine for Energía MK KF, a subsidiary of the textile manufacturer
Grupo Kaltex.
This high efficiency turbine will be up and running by October
2013 and will generate electricity for all of Grupo Kaltex’s facilities.
The project comprises a 36 MW capacity plant, which will be
located in Altamira, Tamaulipas.
Furthermore, in the last three years Siemens has invested close
to 100 million usd per year to extend its reach throughout Mexico,
intensifying its efforts in three new research and development
centers in Nuevo León and Querétaro.
But the green revolution, which Siemens hopes to lead, goes
way beyond this. “We are very much focused on the industry,
but we also concentrate on private consumers. We offer various
products for high efficiency or low energy consumption. But we
also have solutions for the residential market, for example selling
LED lights together with Osram,” comments Christian Koegl, Vice
President of the company’s energy sector.
In Mexico, Siemens’ green dream is backed by 7,000 workers,
whose job is concentrated in two of the company’s biggest plants
in the country: one for electric motors in Guadalajara, Jalisco and
the other for efficient transformers in Guanajuato.
As well as highly-skilled human talent, Mexico offers Siemens
unique conditions to drive forward its product and green solutions
portfolio. “Mexico has a great advantage: international trade
agreements with over 44 countries and, in addition to its location,
costs here are very competitive. All of this gives us the advantage
of exporting to the US, which is the world’s largest market, Canada
and the rest of the world,” Koegl explains.
In Mexico, Siemens owns 13 production plants, and their business
relations reach the rest of Latin America through their affiliates
in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama and the
Dominican Republic.
Just as the country has been a key player for Siemens over the
last 118 years, all signs show it will continue to be so during this
transition towards a greener industry, which the company is driving
forward. There will be no need to wait for the benefits. In 2011
alone, Siemens’ green portfolio allowed clients to cease emitting
around 317 million tons of CO 2
worldwide. n
www.energy.siemens.com

40 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 41
An Agent
of the Wind
for the Benefit
of the Planet
In Mexico there are at least 120 sites with wind energy potential, and
laws facilitating investment in this area are developing fast. SoWiTec
is one company that is starting to reap these benefits.
____
by sandra roblágui
photo archive
Mexico has all the necessary ingredients to plant
fields of wind power, the most widespread renewable
energy in the world. The country’s regulatory
environment is at the forefront of Latin America
and makes it possible to establish a successful market. Mexico
also enjoys economic stability and adequate infrastructure for
electricity distribution. Furthermore, the country possesses
some 120 sites suitable for generating thousands of megawatts
(MW) from wind sources, according to the Director of SoWiTec
de México, Alejandro Robles Hüe.
“It is a market with great potential and perfect conditions for a
sustainable renewable energy project,” expressed the executive.
These are the reasons why since 2008, the German company has
been working in Mexico to develop the conditions for generating
5,000 MW, both with their own projects and through partnerships
with other private institutions.
Founded by Frank Hummel in 1993, SoWiTec Group has always
been dedicated to the promotion of renewable energy. It currently
has a presence in the major energy markets around the world, with
offices in Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Peru, Russia,
Uruguay and Mexico. Altogether, around 100 specialists are working
to develop a 35,000 MW capacity.
In Mexico, the electricity that will arise from the company’s wind
farms will light up the homes of about 8 million people.
So what does SoWiTec do exactly? The universe created the
wind, not wind farms, that much is true. The role of the German
company in Mexico is to follow in nature’s footsteps for its own
benefit, and also make money: “Our goal is to find places with wind
power potential,” reveals Robles Hüe.
To make this possible, since 2008 the firm’s specialists have been
traveling the country measuring the strength of the wind and carrying
out projections, environmental impact studies and research into
the electricity-generating potential. Afterwards, they rent the places
where the turbine blades will turn faster, mostly in rural areas.
“We are working all over the country: in Sonora, Chihuahua,
Tamaulipas, the Bajío region, Campeche…,” adds SoWiTec de
México’s Director. He recognizes that the process of negotiation
with the landowners where wind power has potential is a long one,
as many of them never imagined that the wind that rakes the grass
on their properties could be used to generate electricity. “We are
well-accepted in the field because we include a number of specialists,”
says Robles Hüe. In most of the common lands and small
properties SoWiTec has rented, it occupies less than 5% of the
area and, in turn, repairs or creates roads that benefit the owners
of those tracts of land.
The prestige of the company has won them the support of lending
wind turbines to institutions that are willing to finance the business
of generating power through them.
In early 2012, Santander Bank announced financial backing
for the installation of four SoWiTec wind farms in Mexico. With a
capacity to generate between 650 and 850 MW in total, the projects
will be completed in 2014, in the states of San Luis Potosí (160 MW),
Nuevo León (200 MW) and Coahuila (340 MW, with two projects),
all in northern Mexico. Together this will generate electricity to
supply about 1.3 million people.
Through Santander Capital Structuring (SCS), the agency responsible
for capital investments in renewable energy projects,
energy efficiency and climate change, the Spanish-owned bank will
invest all the capital required to develop these farms, right up to the
“ready to build” stage.
SCS and SoWiTec de México will each retain 50% of the profits
from the project, which will operate under an electricity self-sufficiency
scheme and that, once ready, will be sold to long-term investors,
Santander has reported.
In addition to this lender, the German energy multinational is
also working with New Energy Clean Energy Mexico (ENEL), on
projects that will be ready in 2015, generating a total of 1,800 MW at
various sites in Mexico.
“A lot of work has been done and there is more to come,” says
Alejandro Robles Hüe: “ In Mexico, wind is a new technology, with
almost 1,200 MW installed, mostly in the region of the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec, Oaxaca in the southeast. As the sites evolve, demand
will boost growth. We’ve just gotten started.”
Since 2008 the firm’s
specialists have been
traveling the country
measuring the strength of
the wind and carrying out
projections, environmental
impact studies and
research into the electricitygenerating
potential.
The Director of SoWiTec de México expects that over the coming
years, Mexico will see large private capital investments in renewable
energy, of which wind will comprise 30% or 40% of the total.
“It’s the ideal terrain; wind abounds and the laws of the country are
focusing on the involvement of private companies.”
According to the executive, those who are most interested in using
wind power are big companies like Cemex, Bimbo, Wal-Mart and
Coca Cola, which have corporate mandates to purchase renewable
energy. It is expected that in the years to come green electricity will
also reach small and medium enterprises and ordinary households.
There is no question about it. The winds are surely blowing in the
right direction for Mexico. n
www.sowitec.com

42 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 43
Kyocera’s production
complex in Tijuana is
the company’s chief
manufacturer of solar
modules for North America;
and the plant’s production
capacity will continue to
grow as demand for solar
energy increases.
Kyocera’s Pioneering Solar Energy
Business Gears up for Further Growth
Mexico plays a strategic role in Kyocera’s solar
module manufacturing plans, not only as a
production hub but also as a potential growing
market for the company’s solar solutions.
____
photos courtesy of kyocera mexicana
You may be familiar with Kyocera, a Japanese manufacturer
of microelectronics packaging, industrial ceramics,
cutting tools, solar panels, cell phones and office
equipment. What you may not know is that Kyocera
boasts a rich history of operations in Mexico, since Kyocera
Mexicana began manufacturing products in Tijuana, Baja California
in 1989.
Kyocera Mexicana has proved successful with a variety of
manufacturing processes in the past 23 years. The company’s
hard-working employees in Tijuana have helped improve
yield, reduce cycle time and lower defect rates on some of
Kyocera’s most important products by executing complex
technology transfers, adhering to the core principles of continued
process improvement and maintaining a “customerfirst”
attitude.
“Tijuana has played a key role in Kyocera’s expansion, thanks to
its pool of talented employees who have a strong commitment to
producing high-quality products,” says John Rigby, President of Kyocera
International, Inc., the firm’s San Diego-based North American
headquarters and holding company. “Support from Mexican
leaders and employees has made us stronger, and allowed us to serve
more customers with high-value-added manufacturing.”
One of the latest success stories at Kyocera’s Tijuana facility is
solar module manufacturing.
Kyocera has been in the renewable energy business since the
1970s, when Dr. Kazuo Inamori started researching sapphire
crystal-growth technology and photovoltaic cells. Inamori, who
had founded Kyocera in Kyoto, Japan in 1959 as a producer of
advanced ceramics, believed crystal-growth technology could be
applied to growing silicon crystals. When the OPEC oil embargo
brought the global economy to a standstill in 1973, he became convinced
that renewable energy would become a global imperative.
Inamori’s instincts were spot on. By 1979, Kyocera had become
the first company in the world to successfully deliver silicon
crystal-ribbon solar cells using the Edge-defined Film-fed Growth
(EFG) method.
Over the years, Kyocera has developed production processes
and in-house quality evaluation systems that allow the company to
ensure high quality at every phase of manufacturing.
In 1982, the company was the first to mass-produce multicrystalline
silicon solar cells using the casting method, which is
now the main technique used throughout the world.
This year marks the 37th anniversary of Kyocera’s involvement
in solar energy. Global demand for clean energy has created an explosion
of new companies in fields ranging from geothermal power
to biofuels. Although expectations are high, only a few companies
worldwide have a long tradition of providing reliable renewableenergy
solutions. Kyocera is among the most notable.
Kyocera began solar module production in Tijuana in 2004.
In 2007, the company broke ground on a new, large-scale facility
there as part of an aggressive plan to more than double its annual
solar module manufacturing capacity. The resulting world-class
production center –a two-story plant with 223,000 square feet of
production space– was inaugurated in 2009.
In 2010, the facility put the icing on the cake by installing a
100-kilowatt solar electric generating system on its roof. Now,
in addition to manufacturing solar panels in Tijuana, Kyocera is
producing clean, renewable power that flows directly from the sun
through its solar array and into the power grid.
Today, this high-tech production complex in Tijuana is Kyocera’s
chief manufacturer of solar modules for North America;
and the plant’s production capacity will continue to grow as demand
for solar energy increases.
Global Expansion
Solar energy growth is inevitable. With more than 1.6 billion
people worldwide lacking access to electricity, few technologies
are in greater demand. Making solar energy more affordable is a
matter of enhancing technologies, raising the energy conversion
efficiency of solar cells, and increasing mass production volumes.
Kyocera has developed a global production framework to manufacture
solar panels near major markets, thus minimizing the
environmental impact and costs of shipping bulky solar modules
from manufacturer to installation site. The company’s Tijuana
facility supports US, Canadian and Mexican markets with its highquality
manufacturing processes.
Solar power offers a hedge against the rising cost of electricity,
and serves as an environmental countermeasure to acid rain, ozone
layer depletion and rising carbon levels. The US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) estimates that each gigawatt of fossil-fuel electricity
replaced by solar power will reduce carbon dioxide as much as
a forest covering about 289 square miles.
Due to their high reliability and efficiency, Kyocera modules
have been employed in various installations ranging from utilityscale
power plants, public and industrial facilities to residential
homes in virtually every nation of the globe.
“People all over the world are demanding an energy source
that’s affordable, reliable and safe for the environment,” says Steve
Hill, President of Kyocera Solar, Inc. “Thanks to the quality and
dedication of our colleagues in Tijuana, that is exactly what Kyocera
delivers.”
While most of the panels Kyocera builds in Tijuana are currently
exported, the company believes strongly in the potential
of Mexico’s solar market. “Kyocera is ready to serve this robust
market with cost-effective solar solutions, so Mexican consumers
can enjoy clean, renewable energy from the sun,” concludes David
Hester, Kyocera Mexicana’s President. n
www.kyocera.com

44 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 45
Equitable,
Profitable
and Ecological
The brainchild of a Mexican entrepreneur who not only wanted
to spin a profit, but foster a culture of sustainability, Solartec is
a well-positioned, world-class company engaged in research and
development in the renewable energy industry.
____
by david ricardo vizcarra
photos courtesy of solartec
In 2009, Gustavo Tomé, founder of Solartec, decided to focus
his enterprising spirit on a project that he is still excited
about today: photovoltaic systems.
When they started out, Tomé and his partners didn’t
know much about generating electricity from renewable sources.
All they knew was that, at least in the near future, electricity
was going to be in increasingly greater demand as per capita
consumption and the world population continued to grow. The
only thing that was destined to change –and soon– was how we
generated it.
It is estimated that 20 years from now, between 10% and 25%
of the electricity we consume will be solar-generated. In this terrain,
Mexico has several points in its favor. For instance, Mexico
receives twice as much solar radiation as Germany –which has
the highest installed capacity in the world in terms of photovoltaic
systems– and rates among the top five countries in the world with
the greatest potential to capture solar radiation. To put this into
perspective, if we covered just 1% of the northern state of Sonora
with solar panels, we could generate enough electricity to supply
the entire country’s needs.
So, Tomé and his partners put their faith in the sun, a virtually
inexhaustible and impartial source of energy –unlike other natural
resources, which are distributed unevenly, the sun shines equitably
on the whole planet.
From its base in Guanajuato, Solartec has set itself the goal of becoming
the benchmark for the global renewable energy industry, with
products that offer its clients optimum returns on their investment.
Manufactured in compliance with the highest quality standards,
its products have UL and Electrical Power Saving Trust Fund
Label (FIDE) certification. They also comply with the IEC-61215
standard and, pending one final audit process, will have ISO-9000
certification.
Today, the company is highly specialized and invests heavily
in the development of new technologies at its Environmental and
Energy Sustainability Innovation Center in Irapuato, Guanajuato,
into which over 4.5 million usd have been channeled. Here,
Solartec’s R&D team works on technologies that can be patented
and developed in Mexico, although its lines of research are geared
mainly toward the development of third-generation solar cells and
improving the efficiency of photovoltaic panels.
Already its research has translated into tangible consumer
products like garden lamps and accessories, solar battery chargers,
plague and insect control equipment, outdoor lighting systems and
a range of solar-powered accessories.
In addition to promoting a culture of sustainability by collaborating
on programs with the authorities and academic and social
associations, one of the solutions the company offers the Mexican
market is a kit for remote rural communities that costs just 110 usd
and that can power up to three light bulbs.
Another product it sells in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture,
Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food’s (SA-
GARPA) Shared Risk Trust is a solar-powered pump that extracts
water from the subsoil. Used for irrigation purposes, the pump
allows farmers to produce all year round, as opposed to depending
on seasonal crops.
Solartec has also begun working with property developers
like GEO and URBI, and offers a homeowners’ solar kit under
the Green Mortgage program operated by the National Workers’
Housing Fund Institute (Infonavit). Alternatively, homeowners
can apply for financing under the company’s own Enercity
plan, which includes a diagnosis of electricity requirements and
the adaptation and installation of the system. “Contracting Enercity
is as simple as ordering a pizza,” says Tomé.
But the residential sector isn’t the only one Solartec has tackled.
Its corporate portfolio includes names like Wal-Mart, where it
installed the county’s first hybrid system at the company’s corporate
offices. Designed entirely by Mexican engineers, the system is
powered by a combination of solar photovoltaic and wind energy.
Solartec has also installed PV systems at several Wal-Mart stores
around the country, with Water Capital pitching in on the financing
side, and at some ten HSBC branches. Sometimes the panels serve
a dual function. For instance, at one particular HSBC branch in
Mexico City, the panels double up as a facade, and in the case of the
Schneider plant, they serve as roofing for the company’s parking lot.
With sales of 20 million usd in 2011 and projected sales of 37
million usd for 2012, Solartec is well positioned to continue converting
golden opportunities into clean electricity in Mexico’s
renewable energy sector. n
www.solartec.mx

46 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 47
Mexican
RENEWABLE
Energy
Installed Capacity
2012
(MW)
Estimated 2025
(MW)
Negocios figures
As of February
2012, Mexico had a
renewable energy
installed capacity of
14,324 MW
11,603
15,720
1,215
11,794
958
1,094
548
1,072
2,173
69
Photovoltaic
High-concentration
22.3%
of the
country’s
installed
capacity to
generate
electricity
comes from
renewable
sources.
Mexico has
the goal to
increase the
share of
clean
technologies
in total
generation
capacity to
35% in 2024.
HYDROELECTRIC
WIND
GEOTHERMAL
BIOMASS
SOLAR
Mexico’s
hydroelectric
potential is
53,000 MW
Wind power
potential in
Mexico is
estimated at
71,000 MW
The energy
potential in
Mexico is
greater than
40,000 MW
The solar
radiation
potential in the
northwest of the
country can exceed
6 kWh/m 2
per day
Currently, there are over 200
opened and under construction
plants for electricity generation
from renewable sources in Mexico.
States with the highest
number of projects
Veracruz
SOURCE: PROMÉXICO
28.7%
US
17.3%
Philippines
10.9%
Indonesia
8.7%
Mexico is the world’s
4th geothermal energy
producer
The
solar radiation
potential in the rest
of the country averages
between
4.5-6 kWh/m 2
per day
Oaxaca
Located across the so-called
“Sun Belt”, Mexico is among
the countries with the highest
solar power generation
potential worldwide.
infographic oldemar

48 Negocios ProMéxico
The Lifestyle.
Foreign
Direct
Investment
$Million USD
Year
Number
of projects
The Lifestyle Briefs
Page 50
the Complete Guide to
the Mexican Way of Life
$750
2003
1
$311
2006
1
$104
2007
1
$912
2008
3
$1,024
2009
4
$947
2010
4
$1,853
2011
5
$1,001
2012
3
The Lifestyle Report
Mexico in Expo Yeosu 2012
Page 52
48 Hours in...
Veracruz
Page 58
The Lifestyle Feature
The Good Land
Mexican Organic Products
Page 62
States with the
highest FDI records
Baja California
Tamaulipas
Nuevo León
Chihuahua
Oaxaca
Between 2003 and 2012,
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
in the Mexican renewable
energy industry totaled
6.9 billion USD
Major
foreign investors
Spain US France Japan Denmark
Interview
The City on a Thread
Walking the Tightrope
with Betsabée Romero
Page 66
Design
When Acapulco
Conquered the World
The Acapulco Chair
Page 70
Mexico According To...
Enrique Olvera
Page 72
Mexico is the main
supplier of photovoltaic
solar modules in Latin
America, with a production
capacity of more
than 276 MW
According to KPMG, in 2011
Mexico offered 12.9% savings in
manufacturing costs of advanced
batteries for the green energy
sector, compared to the US.
Mexico is also
an attractive destination
for the manufacture
of clean technologies:
SOURCE: PROMÉXICO WITH DATA FROM FDI MARKETS
AND INVESTMENTS ANNOUNCEMENTS
infographic oldemar
Photo Courtesy of centro mario molina
54
There is
Something
in the Air
A Conversation
with Mario Molina

photo courtesy of grupo bluebay
The Lifestyle Briefs
Tourism
Blue Diamond
Riviera Maya
An Exclusive New Resort
in Playa del Carmen
_____
Conveniently located 40 minutes south of the Cancun International
Airport and 10 minutes north of Playa del Carmen, Blue
Diamond Riviera Maya is Grupo BlueBay’s first “Special Category”
property in Mexico.
This recently opened adults-only resort reflects a new trend
in luxury vacations that has been embraced by the Spanish
chain.
Boasting top-of-the-range amenities and 128 finely-appointed
junior suites and suites, the complex respects the natural path
of freshwater streams that flow from an underground cenote
(underwater sinkhole), while limestone and tropical woods
merge harmoniously against unparalleled views of the Mexican
Caribbean.
www.bluediamondrivieramaya.com
MOBILITY
Car Sharing as a Cure for Traffic
Congestion in Mexico City
In places like Mexico City, where smog, congestion and high maintenance costs should
be enough to deter us from buying a car, public transport has always been the next best
thing… until someone dangled a carrot in front of us.
_____
by nadia escalante
Carrot is a car-sharing service that began operating in mid-June
2012 in Mexico City with Nissan March automobiles and X-Trail
SUVs. The premise is simple enough: it’s better to have several
people using one car than each one of them driving individually.
And the benefits couldn’t be more obvious: fewer cars on our
roads reduces congestion and makes it easier to get from A to B,
not to mention mitigating the environmental impact.
One shared car can replace up to 20 privately owned cars on
our roads, making Carrot a sustainable alternative to owning
an automobile. In fact, according to the consulting firm Frost
& Sullivan, for every shared car there are 15 fewer cars on our
roads and users drive 31% less than they would if they owned a
car of their own.
Several studies conducted in Canada and the US corroborate
that between 15% and 29% of users of car sharing or pooling
The Lifestyle Briefs
services get rid of their own car, while 25% to 61% put off buying
a new one.
This is the first car-sharing program of its kind in Mexico City,
but Carrot isn’t alone in Latin America: similar initiatives include
SigoCar in Costa Rica and Zazcar in Brazil. To rent a car, whether
it’s for a few hours or the whole day, all prospective users have to do
is register at Carrot’s webpage. Once their application has been approved,
they must locate their nearest station and book a car at the
same site or by telephone.
Aside from being a cheaper alternative to owning a car, Carrot
is a decisive step toward reducing traffic congestion and CO 2
emissions. The hope is that this sustainable transport system
will catch on and be replicated in other Mexican cities.
www.carrot.mx
ARCHITECTURE
Mexic-Arte
Designed by
Fernando Romero
_____
FREE, the firm founded by Mexican architect Fernando Romero,
has unveiled its plans for the new Museum of Mexican and
Mexican-American Art (Mexic-Arte) in Austin, Texas. Romero,
who designed the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City, has taken
his inspiration from the Aztec Calendar to come up with a
cylindrical building that will house a collection of about 1,500
works of art over an area of 54,000 square meters. The exterior
of the building will feature a LED lighting system that can be
used to create images for specific art projects or display institutional
advertising on what looks set to become Austin’s new
architectural landmark.
www.fr-ee.org
mexic-artemuseum.org
photo courtesy of free
photo courtesy of carrot

52 Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle 53
Mexico
in Expo Yeosu 2012
The Mayan culture is represented in the Mexican Pavilion in Expo Yeosu 2012, where
Mexico’s biodiversity and richness can be explored from May 12 to August 12, 2012.
Expo Yeosu Korea 2012, located in the southern part of
the Republic of Korea, is host to pavilions designed by
104 countries from all over the world. The International
Expo is showcased by the “Big-O” core facility
for exhibitions and entertainment, a huge fountain over the sea,
an aquarium containing robotic fish as well as actual fish, among
other facilities. The participating countries and international
organizations are set to demonstrate their prowess in marine science
and technology during the 93-day run, from May 12 to August
12, 2012. Expo Yeosu’s central theme is dedicated to the “Living
Ocean and Coast,” accordingly, the event will help shed light on the
knowledge and advancement of technology concerning the ocean
and coast, and identify ways to solve challenges.
This year’s edition is particularly important for Mexico and the
Republic of Korea, being that both nations are celebrating their
50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The Mexican Pavilion is
located in the Atlantic Ocean area, within the international pavilion.
The concept of this space is to show Mexico through its biodiversity,
for instance, the oceans seen through Mayan eyes. The
Mayan culture is represented in the entire pavilion. However, the
main attraction of this concept can be better grasped by entering a
theater style area, where different images of Mexico’s richness and
diversity can be explored.
Facade
The Mayan civilization built awe-inspiring temples and pyramids.
The facade of Mexico’s Pavilion plays tribute to this architectural
heritage, by displaying 10 Mayan icons in its walls. The year 2012
is extremely important for the Mayan culture. According to their
calendar, on December 21, 2012 spirits will descend from heaven
and a cycle will conclude. This stage implies a cosmic regeneration
and the beginning of a new era. It also sets the conditions to restore
balance on earth and the oceans.
Introduction Area
In this area, four plasma screens display different videos with general
aspects about Mexico. Its economy, investment opportunities,
culture, tourism, gastronomy, sustainability and biodiversity are
nicely unveiled.
Entrance Tunnel
The entrance to the Pavilion’s main theater is a tunnel displaying
several Mayan icons. It mimics the experience of entering a
sacred temple or pyramid. A guide welcomes all the visitors with
a “Copal Cup”, used by the Mayas as protection from the spirits
and as a soul purifier.
Theater Show Area
A blue light, combined with different sounds and sensations
coming from a water curtain installed in front of the main screen,
create a particular feeling of being inside an ocean. As the show
goes on, images of Mayan culture, gastronomy, tourism, economy,
investment, sustainability and biodiversity in Mexico
are displayed on the teaser placed above the main screen. The
“Mexico” brand letters are also displayed, one by one, until we get
a complete shot of the country’s six-letter word. A Mexican guide
simulates the sound of the Mayan snail shell, which was linked
to the most representative celebrations of the Mayan people.
The main video-show begins. The great sound of the Mayan snail
shell summons the young and the old to reiterate the respect
and knowledge of their past, as well as their veneration and conscience
towards living beings and the ocean. The marine fauna
hears the calling, a calling of conscience, liberty, remembering
that the Mayan world does not prophesy a dark ending, but rather
the beginning of a new era.
The wind carries the visitors over Mexico’s coasts; first over the
Mexican Caribbean, shown through the Mayan culture, with its
richness of reefs, turquoise sea, and the white sand of its beaches.
The mystery of Mexico’s culture follows visitors into the famous
cenotes (underwater sinkholes) of the Southeast, where they
drown in history, magic and ancestral traditions.
On the East side, the Gulf of Mexico houses grand sand dunes
and tropical reserves for birds. Along the Pacific, visitors travel
across golden beaches and cliffs, which have become icons of the
country such as the Quebrada in Acapulco, where the coexistence
and respect towards the power of the sea can be seen.
The next part of the journey takes visitors to the Sea of Cortés
with the overwhelming arc in Baja California and great beaches
that coexist with the desert, showing both the deepness of the sea
and the vastness of the desert.
Throughout the video, images of the flora and fauna that inhabit
the Mexican coastline are displayed, as well as the different activities
that tourists can take up in Mexico, such as golf, water skiing,
sand boarding, diving, kayaking and spa, among many others. The
voyage through Mexico’s biodiversity ends with images of children
with open arms, which represent the movement of the sea and of
the wings of birds, turtles and stingrays. n
photos courtesy of proméxico

54 Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle 55
there is
Something
in the Air
A Conversation with
Mario Molina
Mario José Molina-Pasquel Henríquez (born March 19, 1943 in
Mexico City) is the first Mexican-born citizen to ever receive a Nobel
Prize in Chemistry. Along with Paul J. Crutzen and F. Sherwood
Rowland, he is one of the precursors to the discovery of the Antartic
ozone hole. In 1995 he was co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
for his role in elucidating the threat of chlorofluorocarbon gases to
the Earth’s ozone layer. In interview with Negocios, Dr. Molina talks
about how he became interested in science and his life today.
____
by maría josé esteva
photos courtesy of centro mario molina
Johannes Kepler asked himself some 400 years ago: “Why
are things the way they are and not otherwise?” No matter
what the era, it is that same, seemingly naive curiosity
that drives us to look for answers to the questions
that have fascinated mankind since time immemorial. Dr. Mario
Molina, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, talks to us about
his life and how he has contributed to science.
Mario Molina (Mexico City, 1943) was one of the scientists who
won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995 for discovering the threat
of certain polluting gases to the ozone layer. Almost 20 years have
passed and Dr. Molina is still hard at work. In interview with Negocios,
he tells us about everything from his early encounters with
science and why we need to take steps to protect the environment, to
what he does during his free time and his passion for music.
—The first “conscious” contact most people have with
science is the typical kid’s chemistry set and the home labs
set up in their bathrooms. What was yours?
As a kid, I started taking an interest in science –when I was
about nine or ten– after reading books about pirates and the
biographies of scientists. Then I got into chemistry experiments
and microscopes. Years later, I started conducting more serious
experiments. I “appropriated” a bathroom at home that wasn’t
being used and turned it into a lab where I conducted proper
experiments, not games. An aunt, a sister of my father who was a
chemist, helped me reproduce the experiments she did at university
in my little “lab”.
—When did you realize that chemistry is all around us?
What was that discovery like?
Studying the sciences made me realize –and this was outside of
school– how important they are to the general wellbeing of mankind.
I gradually specialized in one branch of science: chemistry.
I realized that chemistry plays a role in absolutely everything,
from industrial processes to the food we eat.
—Kids are always asking questions like “Why is the
sky blue?” “Why do onions make us cry?” that can only
be answered by science. Do you remember the kind of
questions you used to ask?
From a very early age, I started asking questions like: What is
chemistry and what makes life possible? How were the elements
and the chemical compounds on our planet created? How were
pharmaceuticals invented?

56 Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle 57
about the mario molina center
The Mario Molina Center for Strategic Studies
on Energy and the Environment is one of the
most prestigious environmental research centers
in Mexico. It was founded in 2004 by Dr. Mario
Molina, Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1995, to
ensure the continuity of research carried out
during his lifetime on problems concerning
the environment and energy, and to create the
consensus necessary to implement measures to
solve them.
Its mission is to find practical solutions to the
many challenges inherent in the development of
sustainable energies.
Over and beyond its research activities, the
center attempts to ensure its proposals are
implemented by providing decision-makers with
evidence based on the findings of its studies. This
multidisciplinary approach aims to encompass
the viewpoints of all actors, thereby facilitating
consensus.
As can be imagined, the name Mario Molina
carries enormous clout, an asset the center has
used to the benefit of environmental causes, not
just in Mexico but worldwide.
centromariomolina.org
the type of radiation that reaches the Earth’s surface, thereby
enabling life to evolve. And we knew that the decomposition of
the ozone layer would entail a major public health risk. The first
step we took was to come up with ideas, a hypothesis, which was
proven years later by experiments.
—Those of us who care about the environment tend to
adopt certain practices, like separating our trash and
using electricity, water and other natural resources more
sparingly. Can our lifestyle help save the planet?
There’s no question we need to make a more efficient use of
resources like water and electricity and moderate our consumption.
Unfortunately, acting on our own initiative as individuals
isn’t enough to solve the problem. People who care about the
environment should join forces with like-minded people and
communicate their concerns to their governments, because only
governments can enforce the regulations needed to bring about
tangible change. We need to support environmental initiatives
with policies that promote sustainable development.
—“Healthy body, healthy mind” is a popular saying. How
do you cultivate your spirit?
I couldn’t agree more that it’s important to achieve a balance
between the various aspects of our makeup as individuals. Art,
for example, is very important to human beings, as is exercise
and work.
As a boy, I loved reading and I later became interested in science
fiction. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to read for pleasure
lately; most of what I read is connected to work. Now and then I try
to catch up with my reading, especially Spanish-American novels.
I love music too, and over the years I’ve taken a growing interest
in art. I had the chance to live in Europe and used to love going
to museums. There you can see some of the finest art collections
representative of universal culture.
—With today’s hectic pace of life, we seem to have less and
less time to ourselves. What do you do when you’re not
working?
When I’m not working, which isn’t often, I’m with my family.
I listen to music, read, play tennis –I like sports– and catch up
with current affairs in Mexico and abroad. I think you have to do
things passionately. Work and free time should be something you
enjoy if you want to reap the benefits. It’s important not to limit
yourself to one activity, but to complement your life with cultural
and sporting activities and family time.
—Returning to the subject of chemistry, it is said that
nothing beats a perfect combination of flavors. What is
your favorite food?
Gourmet food is one of the things I enjoy the most. I appreciate good
food from all manner of countries. It’s something I try to combine
with my never-ending trips. Luckily, we have great food in Mexico. n
—Is there any teacher you have fond memories of ?
Yes, my father’s sister. Rather than teach me, she made chemistry
a game for me. That’s how I learned. As for formal teachers,
I remember Professor Giral. He was from Spain and taught me
organic chemistry at university.
I also have fond memories of Professor Pimentel, who mentored
me when I was writing my PhD thesis at the University of
Berkeley. He was widely recognized in his day for his teaching
skills in chemistry and his scientific discoveries.
—Tell us about your passion for music. Do you still play
the violin?
I was drawn to music from a very young age. Classical music was
probably my favorite. I played the violin as a boy and for a few
years I was a resident at a school in Switzerland, where I was able
to take private lessons.
Unfortunately, my parents asked for the advice of a friend
who was a violinist and he told them that unless I spent eight
hours a day practicing, it wasn’t worth it. I had to choose: music
or science. Looking back, it was bad advice because I could have
continued playing for my own pleasure, but I quit. Then I took up
the classical guitar, because I thought it would be easier, but as it
turned out, it wasn’t. Recently, I’ve considered taking violin lessons
again and trying to remember, but I haven’t had time to do
anything serious about it. I still love classical music.
—How are music and chemistry related?
It’s interesting that music has been the hobby of many scientists,
including some very famous ones. For instance, Albert Einstein
played the violin. I have scientist friends who enjoy a special connection
with music. I think we should all complement our lives
with a little bit of culture and partake in it. A friend of mine who’s
a scientist became so interested in instrument-making technology
that he now designs guitars and violins using ultra-modern
physics methods.
—Let’s talk about the Nobel Prize. What was the most
satisfying aspect of winning such a prestigious award?
I acknowledge that it’s the greatest achievement a scientist can
aspire to, because it’s one of the most prestigious and longestrunning
awards in the world. The people who have received it have
made major contributions to the development of science. People
like Einstein, Planck and Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish chemist
who was among the first to express concern about climate change.
Marie Curie is another illustrious example and, more recently,
Watson and Crick, for their discoveries about the structure of
DNA. The list of scientists who have received the prize is extremely
lengthy, which only comes to show how important it is to science
and those of us who devote our lives to it.
—It’s been almost 40 years since you and Professor
Rowland first revealed the threat polluting gases pose to
the ozone layer. Were you aware of the implications of
your research at the time?
Yes, to a large extent we were. Part of our initial surprise was
that we had uncovered a problem that was significant not just
to chemistry, but to the wellbeing of mankind. This was because
we knew the important role the ozone layer plays in controlling
“People who care about the
environment should join
forces with like-minded
people and communicate
their concerns to their
governments, because only
governments can enforce the
regulations needed to bring
about tangible change.”

58 Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle 59
Saturday
48 Hours in
Veracruz
With a population close to 600,000, Veracruz is the largest city in the
state of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave. This port city is a thriving ecotourism
destination, with magnificent coral reefs that draw divers from
all over the world, while its folk music, colonial architecture, traditional
dress and colorful February carnival lend it a personality of its own.
____
8:00 a.m.
The hotel-restaurant El Condimento prepares a great buffet
breakfast to get you fired up and on your way.
9:00 a.m.
Get off to a great start with a brisk walk along the seafront and
a dose of revitalizing sea air. Then it’s off to Boca del Río, a
municipality sometimes referred to as Little Venice since all its
houses are on the river. A boat trip is the best way to explore the
lagoon and the estuary, both brimming with local flora and fauna.
Boca del Río
Km 12 on the Veracruz-Córdoba Highway
by jimena sánchez-gámez
photos archive
Friday
7:30 p.m.
Arriving in the port of Veracruz at night, with the city reflected
in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, is an unforgettable sight. Our
trip begins with dinner at Il Veneziano, which offers an extensive
menu of delicious Italian classics that have been known to delight
even Italians here on vacation.
Il Veneziano
José Martí 6
Colonia Reforma
T. +52 (229) 937 0584
www.ilveneziano.com.mx
1:00 p.m.
Lunch time at last! Strange as it may
sound, the best restaurant in the area is
Asian, and goes by the name of Krua Thai.
The Pad Thai and Curry Duck come highly
recommended.
Krua Thai
Boulevard Miguel Alemán
on the corner of Ballena
Fraccionamiento Los Delfines
T. +52 (222) 920 2034
www.kruathai.com.mx
10:00 p.m.
For a good night rest, check into the emblematic Hotel Emporio,
which has an unbeatable seafront location. Luxury amenities,
elegant interiors and high service standards complete the
package.
Hotel Emporio
Paseo del Malecón 244
T. +52 (229) 989 3300
www.hotelesemporio.com/veracruz
4:00 p.m.
On the opposite side of the port of Veracruz is the island of San
Juan de Ulúa, which served as a stepping stone for traders making
the journey from Spain. Closely linked to the founding of Villa
Rica de la Vera Cruz by Hernán Cortés in 1519, its main attraction
is its fort, which dates back to 1535 and is built mainly of coral
stone.
Fort of San Juan de Ulúa
T. +52 (229) 938 5151
www.sanjuandeulua.com.mx

60 Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle 61
7:30 p.m.
One of the most important buildings in Veracruz is the cathedral,
dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. Neo-Classical in style,
its simple interior contrasts with the Baccarat crystal chandeliers
and high altar that adorn the central nave, both gifts from the
Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
Historic Center
2:00 p.m.
You can’t visit Veracruz without trying its seafood. Back in the
port, El Villa Mar offers good service and an excellent choice of
regional dishes. We recommend the seafood Carpaccio, the fish
steak with garlic and chili sauce, and the fish roe in green sauce.
Mariscos Villa Mar
Avenida Mocambo 527
T. +52 (229) 922 2113
8:00 p.m.
Gran Café de la Parroquia is something of an institution in
Veracruz, and the perfect place to get a taste of local culture. This
restaurant-café can get pretty packed and noisy at certain times
of the day, but is well worth a visit. We recommend the Platillo
Volador (ham and cheese sandwich) and the famous café lechero
(milked coffee).
8:00 p.m.
Now it’s time for one last stroll on the streets of Veracruz to take
in the city’s stately colonial buildings. The Town Hall (Palacio
Municipal) in the main square is as good a place as any to start.
One of the city’s finest and best-preserved buildings, it is easily
recognizable by its white facade and majestic archways that lead
onto an inner courtyard.
Palacio Municipal
Calle Gutiérrez Zamora, S/N
Gran Café de la Parroquia
Gómez Farías 34
Colonia Centro
T. +52 (229) 932 2584
www.laparroquia.com
If you have some
extra time on
your hands, we
recommend…
Sunday
8:00 a.m.
For a more traditional Veracruz-style breakfast, Las Anitas
goes out of its way to showcase regional cuisine. Authentically
Mexican, this small eatery has earned a well-deserved reputation
among locals.
Las Anitas
Miguel Alemán 1669
T. +52 (229) 937 0399
9:00 a.m.
After enjoying a hearty meal, head to La Antigua, a small town 28
kilometers from the port (about 20 minutes by car) that stands on
the estuary of the Huitzilapan or “Hummingbird” river through
which Hernán Cortés reached Mexico City in 1519. La Antigua
boasts many important historic buildings, like the house where
the Spanish conquistador once lived.
Cempoala
A town 30 km north of the port of Veracruz
where you can see structures from
the Totonac culture decorated with river
stones.
Chachalacas
Take a boat across the river to the beach
or explore the dunes farther north. On
weekends and vacations, the locals rent
out ATVs.
Tlacotalpan
Declared a World Heritage Site by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
this quaint little town lies 80 km south
of the port of Veracruz. Aside from its
colorful houses with tiled roofs and elegant
archways, a major tourist attraction
is the festival held every year on
February 2, when the locals pay tribute
to their patron saint, the Virgin of Candelaria.

62 Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle 63
Ost Gourmet
The Good
Land
Based on the philosophy “we want to show you what we’re made
of ”, Ost Gourmet is a company from Querétaro that was created “to
make quality food available to all Mexicans” through a small but
consistent variety of pastas and salsas produced with the best raw
materials found in the country.
Their production method is a combination of the artisanal and
the industrial, which could be worth replicating in other fields.
This “semi-industrialization” ensures that the foods produced
comply with the same safety, hygiene and quality control standards
practiced by large corporations, without allowing the product’s
properties or preparation method to be affected, resulting in
a spirit that is 100% homemade.
Their products are mouthwatering: fettuccine with amaranth,
ravioli with spinach and ricotta, and lasagnas, all imbued with
intense flavor as the ingredients are subjected to the lowest possible
amount of processing. Their best properties come from two
important allies: nature and time.
ost-gourmet.com
They began as part of a dietary fad and became a vote for health.
Now, organic products are a new business opportunity and a base
for the well-known “green economy”.
____
by mónica isabel pérez
photos archive
The world is changing. What was once a storage solution has now become a process
that consumers all over the planet want to get rid of, little by little. Industrialized
foods began to experience a general rejection and slowly gave way to
organic products. This is not a trend or a whim; what contemporary consumers
are looking for when they choose organic product consumption is wellbeing at all levels,
better quality, more nutrients and, at the same time, to contribute to the success of an economic
model that is better suited to our times, and that reduces environmental risks while
promoting social equality.
The green economy is an inclusive proposal in which small food growers can easily find
their niche. It is, as stated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), “an
alternative and a more sustainable proposal for doing business.”
Mexico has joined this trend, as proven in the examples that follow.
La Casa de Doña Lupe
Wine is a living product and possibly one of the most complex and
magnificent that has been developed by humanity. Each glass has a
distinct flavor for it is the result of an ever-present factor of chance
that requires a great deal of care. Everything needs patience: the
grapes, the fermentation and aging processes. A proper environment
is crucial, given that the barrels are the ones that absorb it
and stamp their mark on the beverage.
Doña Lupe is aware of all this, and has provided a warm family
atmosphere at her small winery located in Valle de Guadalupe, in
Baja California. With the help of her sons, Lupe is responsible for
ensuring that the Cabernet and Nebbiolo grapes that grow on her
land reach their maximum expression in the bottles that bear her
label.
The winery is committed to organic production. It does not use
chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. In order to protect
the crops, the company uses ecological pesticides made from natural
oils that do not affect the fruit’s taste, quality or hygiene.
To complete the experience, visitors to Doña Lupe’s warehouse
may sample fresh bread, pizzas, desserts, oils and compotes that
provide an organic pairing of the highest quality.
www.donalupe.com

64 Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle 65
Tianguis
Orgánico
Chapingo
(Chapingo Organic Market)
Vida Orgánica
To meet the needs of those looking for an environmentally-friendly
lifestyle, Vida Orgánica is just right. The company saw an opportunity
to extend its business range to include not only organic foods,
but a whole range of products designed to reduce the negative impact
that consumers’ everyday activities have on the environment.
Besides producing a wide range of products that bear the organic
seal, Vida Orgánica distributes clothing made from organic materials,
electricity-saving light bulbs, rechargeable batteries and
even personal grooming and beauty products that are carefully selected
based on their ingredients and treatment methods.
In terms of food, they gather products from small growers of infusions,
coffee, marmalades, cereals and supplies that have a high
quality standard and that guarantee that their organic value, free
of industrialized chemical processes, contributes to the quality of
life of both consumers and producers.
vidaorganica.com
As with any business, anyone who wants
to produce and distribute organic products
needs to have a space in which to sell them
and spread the word.
In Mexico, one of these spaces is the
Chapingo Organic Market, a project that
has been around for nearly a decade. It is
sponsored by the University of Chapingo
to both create a network of small producers
and offer a space to promote their products.
The Chapingo Organic Market is open
each Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Shoppers can find foods that are free of industrial
processing and daily use products
that are prepared with environmentallyfriendly
methods. Also, there are workshops
and cultural events for consumers to
increase their awareness of the economic
and health benefits of revisiting the traditional
method of obtaining food.
Igualdad S/N
Colonia El Cooperativo
Km 38.5 of the Mexico-Texcoco Highway
Estado de México
Coffee Movement
According to figures published by CNN Mexico, Chiapas is the
world’s largest producer of organic coffee. In this Mexican state,
approximately 70,000 producers –of which a third are women–
produce 18 million tons of organic coffee each year.
This means that in Chiapas, organic coffee production is an
economic movement. It is one of the best examples of how the
green economy functions, because the people who live and produce
in the state’s coffee areas have discovered that unity really
does produce strength. They have coalesced into an inclusive
and cooperative community to market their coffee, which is
free of agrochemicals and artificial fertilizers.
For all this, the demand for organic coffee grown in Chiapas
is increasing at an average rate of 5% each year.
In the heart of the cloud forest that crowns the Sierra Madre
de Chiapas is Santa Rita, a small town full of coffee plantations
founded by Turks and Germans in the early 20th century.
Today, Santa Rita is part of the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve.
Here, Rosalía Roblero and her family own three hectares that
have been producing quality coffee for over 100 years.
In 1990, El Triunfo was declared a protected area, which
means the coffee grown here is free of potentially polluting
agrochemicals and artificial fertilizers. And because coffee
plantations require shade, more native trees have been planted,
helping counter deforestation in the mountains of Chiapas.
The organic coffee produced by the Roblero family is among
the best in Mexico, but it is also exported by Agroindustrias
Unidas de México, which supplies Starbucks and other coffeehouse
chains with small doses of success in a cup.

66 Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle 67
City on a
Thread
Walking the Tightrope
with Betsabée Romero
La ciudad en un hilo (City on a Thread) opened at the Mycellium
Ingenium Gallery on the 51st floor of the Torre Mayor in Mexico City
on June 21, 2012. Featuring around 80 pieces, several of which were
created expressly for the exhibition, this is the first solo showing by
contemporary Mexican artist Betsabée Romero. In interview with
Negocios, she talks about her dreams, the meaning of her work, and the
path taken by her career.
____
by paola valencia
photos courtesy of ludens
Betsabée Romero is one of Mexico’s more internationally
renowned contemporary artists. Born in Mexico City
in 1963, her “urban” discourse and choice of materials
like cars and tires is to be expected from someone raised
in one of the largest cities in the world. With over 90 exhibitions
under her belt, Romero’s work belongs to over a dozen prestigious
collections in Mexico and abroad. In the US, the cities of Los Angeles,
San Diego and New York have been very receptive to her work,
which has also received critical acclaim in countries like Spain,
France, Australia, Colombia, Argentina and Brazil.
The migratory movements of mankind and today’s breakneck
pace of life are some of the themes explored in her work.
—Cars and tires are two words that inevitably crop up
when talking about your work. What meaning do you
attach to them and how would you define your work?
Cars and tires are the tools of my trade. I view them as icons of
modernity, as elements of an international language. As for my
work, although my style is often described as “very Mexican”, I do
not think contemporary art should be labeled in this way. I think
my work is an interpretation of urban living and its contradictions.
I also like to broach topics like borders and migration. It is
all related to the movements of mankind: Why do we emigrate?
How do we get around? I think cultures can largely be defined by
their migratory patterns.
Julián Zugazagoitia once said I was a very “glocal” artist and I
guess it’s not a bad term to define me because I believe you have
to work on both fronts: locally and globally.
—How did you come to adopt these materials?
In 1997 I was invited to InSite Tijuana-San Diego, a biennial that
does not exist anymore –which is a shame since, in my view, it
was one of the most important biennials on the international
scene. Being a part of it changed the mood of my work because I
realized I had grown up in a very built up, central area of Mexico
City, full of mechanics’ workshops and piles of tires. In Tijuana I
saw a lot of scrap yards full of tires and I got to thinking about all
those tires just sitting there when they were meant to be on the
move. That is when it occurred to me I could use them as icons of
modern living.

68 Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle 69
“The city is hanging on a
thread and we all live on top
of it, like tightrope walkers.
What shores the city up is
culture and history.”
tator. All that “Don’t Touch”, “Don’t Walk”, “Keep Your Distance”,
“Don’t Cross the Line” messages create an atmosphere so formal
and aseptic it can often be a turn off.
But here it’s completely different. It’s a place with existing
décor –wallpaper, mirror carpet, furniture–, which makes it a
challenge in the sense that all the pieces have to interact with
their surroundings, and during the course of that dialogue each
piece acquires new meaning.
It’s exciting to have two exhibitions showing at the same time
in the same city, but in such different contexts. I’m showing at
Mycellium Ingenium and I also have an exhibit, Al son del agave
(To the Sound of the Agave), at the Tequila and Mezcal Museum
(MUTEM) in Plaza Garibaldi; two very different, but equally
interesting venues.
—What’s next for Bestabée Romero?
I want to continue doing public art. The most I can wish for is to
see my dreams take shape. I’ve already seen many of my paper
sketches materialized on Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City, but
I have many other ideas I’d like to see come to fruition.
Right now I have an interesting idea for a Ferris wheel depicting
the different roles the vocho [the classic Volkswagen sedan]
has played: as a taxi in Mexico City, as the first car a woman has
ever owned, as a student’s car, etc. I’d like to build it down below,
in front of Torre Mayor. I think it’s a very doable, fun, human
piece that will help make contemporary art more accessible to
people. n
“I believe you have to work
on both fronts: locally
and globally.”
about mycellium ingenium
Located on the 51st floor of Torre Mayor in
Mexico City, the Mycellium Ingenium Gallery
was created to provide common ground for
artists, politicians and entrepreneurs. Its
curator, Adriana María Martínez, is convinced
there is nothing more at odds with reality than
thinking people with supposedly antagonistic
personalities can’t come together and share the
same space.
Reforma 505, Piso 51
Colonia Cuauhtémoc
Mexico City
www.mycelliumart.com
As for cars, they have always been associated with speed and
accidents. In my case, I seek to convey just the opposite. Every
time I paint a piece, I do it slowly, as if trying to give the tire a new
history, a history of slowness. My tires have learned to be patient
again. In terms of speed, it’s a plea to make decisions about politics
and culture slowly, with your feet on the ground.
Art is a vehicle for reflection and knowledge and my work has
to do with the demystification of speed. I take my tires in the opposite
direction and set them in motion to imprint memories on
them, recording everything that has been run over throughout
history.
—How did you become involved in art?
I’ve been in contact with art since I was very young. It was an important
path for me, but I think, to a certain degree, I traveled it
out of disappointment. When I was young I wanted to study Philosophy,
but in the end I opted for Communications Sciences. To
be honest, I never saw myself working in the media; I preferred
to focus on the research aspect, but I always felt very restricted.
That’s when I got to thinking I wanted to create my own messages,
so I went to study Fine Arts in Paris, then I studied Art History
at the Louvre and then I came back to Mexico and did a PhD
in Art History at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
(UNAM). My communications background was instrumental in
introducing me to the art world.
—Why City on a Thread?
The city is hanging on a thread and we all live on top of it, like
tightrope walkers. What shores the city up is culture and history;
memory is the point where the thread is strongest, allowing us to
survive each passing day.
—The 51st floor of Torre Mayor is a business center, not a
conventional gallery. What challenges does showing at the
Mycellium Ingenium Gallery entail?
It’s really interesting. Because they’ll be site-specific to each exhibition
space, the pieces have to converse with their surroundings
in an unusual way. Ordinarily, when you show at a museum
or gallery, the environment is very controlled so the work can be
appreciated, although it’s often counterproductive for the spec-

70 Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle 71
When Acapulco
Conquered the World
the acapulco chair
Made of simple steel rod and PVC cord, the Acapulco Chair has departed from its
port of origin and sailed the seven seas. But just what is it that makes this chair an
icon of Mexican design and culture?
____
by paulina lasa
photos archive
1
How often have we heard that “education
is the key to real change”?
Probably so often it has lost all
meaning, yet there is a lot of
truth in that saying. Maybe we have not fully
grasped its meaning?
Handmade in the Bay of Acapulco since
the 1950’s, this simple, brightly colored chair
has become an icon of international design.
The identity of its designer is unknown, but
today it is sold –and even made– in various
parts of the world, and has participated in
top design shows in cities like New York and
Copenhagen.
Legend has it that the chair leapt to international
fame during Acapulco’s Golden Age
in the 1960’s, when the bay was popular among
Hollywood celebrities and attracted hordes of
tourists in search of a taste of glamour. Its distinctive
shape and the materials it is made from
haven’t changed since then: steel rod and PVC
cord woven together much like a hammock.
Colors like deep pink (a.k.a. Mexican pink)
give the chair a cheap-and-cheerful demeanor,
but aside from being cost-effective to manufacture,
it is suited to hot climates, is flexible
and easy to repair –qualities any Bauhaus designer
would applaud. Another advantage is
that it can be made from recycled materials.
Numerous contemporary designers have
incorporated the chair’s design principles
into their own creations, like Mexico’s Cecilia
León de la Barra and Héctor Esrawe, Patricia
Urquiola of Spain and the Campana brothers
of Brazil, who all have “Acapulco” inspired collections
or individual pieces.
For instance, Cecilia León de la Barra designed a colorful
magazine rack consisting of two concentric metal circles joined by
colorful PVC cord, and a series of equally colorful outdoor stools
based on the same principle as the Acapulco Chair.
Héctor Esrawe’s collection of outdoor chairs is as fresh and
flexible as the Acapulco Chair, but takes more sophisticated shapes
and provides support for the arms and legs. The chairs can also be
assembled and dismantled, depending on the user’s needs.
Patricia Urquiola also has a chair collection that adopts the
metal frame and plastic cord so characteristic of the Acapulco
Chair, except that her versions have more complex, angular frames
and feature broad, crisscrossing bands of color.
The Anemone, a chair designed by the Campana brothers, has
a metal frame much like that of the Acapulco Chair, but instead of
straight lines has a beautiful higgledy-piggledy plastic weave that
creates the illusion of an anemone. Another piece of theirs that appears
to have Mexican ancestry is the Vermelha Chair, made of 500
meters of hand-woven cord.
On its extensive journeys, the Acapulco Chair has been reinterpreted
time and time again, but will always remain true to its roots
as a flagship of Mexican design. n
2
5
1. Acapulco chair.
2. Outdoor chairs by Héctor Esrawe.
3. Vermhela chair by the Campana Brothers.
4. Magazine rack by Cecilia León de la Barra.
5. Chair by Patricia Urquiola.
3
4

72 Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle
Mexico According To
ENRIQUE
OLVERA
by naomi palovits
photo courtesy of pujol
Pujol is by far the best restaurant in Mexico City and, according
to the prestigious San Pellegrino list, one of the
top 50 in the world. Behind Pujol’s kitchen is Mexican chef
Enrique Olvera (1976), who after graduating from the Culinary
Institute of America in New York, returned to Mexico to start
his adventure as a restaurateur.
To celebrate Pujol’s 10th anniversary in 2010, Olvera published
the book UNO (ONE), documenting 10 years of his culinary experiences,
his philosophy and his views on the current state and the
future of Mexican gastronomy. His second book, En la milpa (In the
Field, 2011) delves into the chef’s new approach to the art of foodmaking.
Olvera experiments with traditional and contemporary techniques,
aided by Mexico’s vast universe of ingredients.
Imagination, sense of humor and a peculiar attention to detail
are the secret ingredients of Olvera’s success.
The list of his awards and achievements would not fit on this
page: “Chef of the Decade” (Chilango) and “Best of the Best” (Travel
& Leisure), are only a few of the chef’s accolades.
This season, Olvera stars on Diario de un Cocinero (Diary of
a Cook) TV series in Canal Once –broadcast television network
owned by the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN). Directed by
filmmaker Juan Carlos Rulfo, the series documents the life behind
Pujol’s kitchen.
—What is your favorite place in Mexico to relax?
Home.
—What is your favorite Mexican beach?
Playa del Carmen.
—What is your favorite Mexican dish?
I have lots, but I would have to say black mole and quesadillas.
—Which part of Mexico would you recommend every
foreigner visit?
Oaxaca.
—Do you have any traditional Mexican craftwork at home
that you are really attached to?
A huge clay pot.
—Name one place in Mexico on your “must visit” list.
The Tarahumara mountains.
—What do you like most about Mexico?
Its people, food and geography: the landscapes, nature and weather.
—What Mexican ingredients do you use most in your
cooking?
Avocado, corn, chili peppers and lime.
—Which is your favorite regional cuisine?
It is hard to choose just one. Mexico has an amazing culinary diversity
and each region has its own unique cuisine, from the North right
down to the South, passing through Central Mexico, and from the
Pacific Coast right across the Gulf of Mexico. But if I had to choose
one, I guess it would be Oaxaca.
—What inspires you the most?
My passion for what I do; enjoying my job every single day. n

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