Spotlight – MINT & BRIC | Powering on
As an Indian hydropower plant celebrates 100 years of generation, Mexico could repower its existing fleet for more hydro, and a major technical overhaul gets underway in Brazil.
24,918GW of solar photovoltaics, 3669GW of wind, 2.5GW of conventional geothermal, and 1.2GW of additional capacity from existing hydropower facilities – all combined, enough to meet the country’s electricity needs a hundred times over. According to the report, although Mexico’s
Above: The 750MW La Yesca hydro power project on the Rio Grande de Santiago in Jalisco, Mexico
MEXICO IS IDEALLY POSITIONED to become a clean energy powerhouse, according to a new report released by the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Replete with solar and wind resources, the country also has remaining untapped hydropower potential. NREL’s Mexico Clean Energy Report says that rapid
Below: View from the water of the monument at the Chicoasen Hydroelectric Dam located on the Grijalva River in Chiapas State, southern Mexico Credit: Daniela Constantinescu /
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growth in renewable energy deployment could enable Mexico to achieve its 35% clean energy generation goal by 2024, generate high levels of investment, increase energy access, reduce costs to consumers, and – together with other technical measures – improve the reliability and resilience of its power system. Mexico’s national technical potential includes
hydropower has grown, its load has grown faster – by almost four times since 1990. As a result, hydropower’s contribution has dropped from 20% to 8% of annual generation. However, an additional 1.2GW (~2.6 TWh/ yr) of hydropower could be tapped by repowering the existing fleet, which can be achieved with no additional land use and only marginal environmental and cost impacts. While economically feasible hydropower potential is believed to be twice current generation levels (27GW or ~59 TWh/yr), technical hydropower potential is estimated at 135TWh/yr (four times current levels). Mexico uses 76% of its water for agricultural purposes, exceeding both world (71%) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (48%) country averages. NREL says that water scarcity and uncertainty are issues that must be analysed holistically. Where development is necessary (e.g. new municipal or agricultural water needs), a multipurpose reservoir can address water uncertainty and seasonal scarcity while increasing the length of the growing season and renewable generation. Irrigation modernisation that includes in conduit (or in canal) generation will benefit both farmers and the grid– reducing water use and increasing renewable generation. Adding generation to existing non- powered dams can increase renewable production with little environmental impact or additional land use. Even in the short term, with sufficient private sector investment, NREl says that Mexico could quickly bring 15,257MW of renewable energy online. With this investment, the cost of producing electricity could be significantly reduced, saving the national system US$1.1 billion, as well as generating US$17 billion in new investment opportunities, creating over 72,000 jobs, and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. “Mexico can be a clean energy powerhouse,” said NREL Laboratory Director Martin Keller, “and a vital part of maintaining North America’s competitive edge around the world. Realising this potential will require energy policies that facilitate private investment and support our joint efforts on clean energy, climate, and supply chains.”
NREL says that the findings in this study underscore that private sector investment is critical for Mexico to achieve its clean energy goals. The investments needed to achieve these gains, however, would have a very low probability of occurring if changes are made to Mexico’s current legal, regulatory, and electricity market frameworks that would result in significant barriers to market entry.
8 | July 2022 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
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