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