CFE to vote on October 20 on more than 60 renewables totaling 8.2 GW

The Board of Directors of the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) plans to vote on October 20 on an initial approval of more than 60 renewable projects, mostly solar and wind farms, which would add nearly 8.2 gigawatts (GW) to the grid and an estimated investment of $12.5 billion, according to El Financiero on October 16, 2026, citing a person who asked not to be identified.

The final amount depends on transmission costs, which are still to be settled. The vote is part of President Claudia Sheinbaum's strategy to strengthen a grid that has suffered blackouts, especially in the Yucatán Peninsula, and that aims to add 32 GW of capacity by 2030, with 40% from renewable sources, according to Bloomberg Línea.

For the region, the package matters because of its scale: 8.2 GW is equivalent, in capacity terms, to the simultaneous operation of eight nuclear reactors, a comparison both publications include. The CFE spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment, according to the two reports, and a second source warned that the number of projects receiving final approval may be lower than the total put to a vote.

Two conditions frame any outcome. First, the approval is preliminary: the next step is the formalization of contracts with the participating companies, a process that does not end with the board vote. Second, Mexican law requires the State to retain at least 54% ownership of power plants, a requirement both publications cite as a reference for the partnerships between private capital and the CFE that the plan envisions.

The outcome of the session determines how much private renewable capacity can be added to a system under demand pressure in the short term. Any final figure for approved projects, together with the transmission costs that condition the amount, will be known after the meeting and will define the real scope of the investment.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.