mexico renews itself - ProMéxico

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