Sener Counts 42 Solar Plants at 6,856 MW, With 4,445 MW Still to Be Assigned

Mexico's Ministry of Energy (Sener) counts 42 solar photovoltaic plants in operation or in process, with combined capacity of 6,856.4 MW, plus 4,445 MW of additional photovoltaic capacity pending assignment within an overall portfolio of 9,050 MW that the government expects to complete before the end of 2026, according to the report published on October 15 by pv magazine Latam based on official data.

The inventory is part of a portfolio of 55 renewable projects, 42 photovoltaic and 13 wind, totaling 10,883 MW and an estimated investment of 10,600 million dollars, according to the presentation by Energy Secretary Luz Elena González. Of the total, 17 projects for 2,858 MW are private and 38 for up to 8,025 MW operate under mixed schemes with the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), which participates in close to 70% of the portfolio. The figures update the June snapshot, when Sener reported 50 solar plants for 7,859 MW and 17 wind farms for 4,701 MW; the document does not detail the origin of the difference between the two counts.

Storage appears as the least itemized component. Sener estimates investments of 794,109 million pesos between 2025 and 2030 in electricity generation, without separating how much corresponds to photovoltaic or to batteries, while the 2025-2030 Energy Sector Program contemplates 2,216 MW of batteries to backstop CFE's solar and wind expansion. In parallel, the call for strategic storage projects associated with CFE remains open, with a reference need of 935 MW in systems not associated with generating plants and three hours of duration, whose registration was extended to October 30, according to pv magazine Latam.

The flagship project is the Rafael Galván Maldonado photovoltaic complex, in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora. Its first two sequences total 420 MW in operation and 72 MW of batteries; Sequence III, of 300 MW and some 563,000 panels, is more than 27% complete and will add 103 MW and 309 MWh of storage, with entry into operation expected in December 2027, according to Mexico Business News. The fourth sequence, of 280 MW, would take the complex to 1,000 MW of photovoltaic capacity.

The next data point to watch is the close of the assignment of the remaining 9,050 MW before December 31 and the publication of the results of the storage call, which will define how much renewable capacity enters the National Electric System in 2027.

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