Cheaper contracts in second Mexican renewables auction

The average price for a wind or solar project in Mexico’s latest renewable energy auction fell 30 percent as close to 3GW of contracts were awarded.

During the auction, 23 developers – including the likes of Acciona Energy, Iberdrola, Enel Green Power (EGP), Engie and Actis-backed Zuma Energia – won contracts to build 36 projects representing 2,871MW of capacity and $4 billion of investments over the next three years.

Contracts were awarded for an average of $33.47MWh, below the $41.80MWh rate awarded in March. The price per contract was also below the $60 maximum price set by state-owned utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad.

The auction, organised by the Mexican Ministry of Energy and the National Center for Energy Control, is part of Mexico’s recent energy reform measures to open the sector up to private investment. It has set a target to generate at least 35 percent of electricity from clean sources by 2024.

The first auction held in March awarded over 2GW of projects. Close to 1.7GW of solar contracts were awarded in the last auction, and EGP was the largest winner. The Italian renewable developer won contracts to build three projects generating a combined 787MW. There were wind project contracts awarded for 394MW, the largest going to Acciona to build a 168MW wind farm.