Under Mexico's first electricity power auction, SunPower has been awarded power purchase agreements with CFE, Mexico's state-owned electric utility, to deliver one terawatt-hour of energy, equivalent to approximately 500MW, over the term of the agreements. The auction was held as a result of Mexico's sweeping energy sector reform, which opened the market for energy companies to compete as generation providers.
SunPower's awards from the auction include almost 400MW in Yucatan and more than 100MW in Guanajuato, and their associated clean energy certificates. Based on the auction results released by Mexico's National Center for Energy Control, or CENACE, SunPower won approximately 20% of the total energy, and 25% of the solar energy, awarded from the energy auction. Project development and construction is contingent on factors including contract execution.
"With more than seven gigawatts of solar power systems around the world using our high performance technology, SunPower has the experience and expertise to deliver reliable, cost-competitive solar power to serve Mexico's growing energy demand," said Tom Werner, SunPower President and CEO. "SunPower is proud to have this opportunity to partner with CFE to accelerate Mexico's transition to a robust clean energy economy."
In December, SunPower announced a long term power purchase agreement under which the company would provide 36 megawatts of solar power to Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V. , a privatized airport group in Mexico and operator of Cancun Airport and eight other airports in southeast Mexico. SunPower expects to start construction this year and, once the project is operational, the company will provide operations and maintenance services, including monitoring power plant production.
SunPower has operated in Mexico since 2011, and has a manufacturing facility in Mexicali that produces more than one gigawatt of high efficiency SunPower® solar panels annually. SunPower panels manufactured in Mexicali were the first and only solar panels in the world to achieve Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Silver designation for their sustainable manufacturing practices. Ninety-nine percent of the waste generated from SunPower's Mexicali facility is diverted from landfills, making it the first of any industry in Mexico to be third-party verified as landfill-free.
