The financing is being provided by KFW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau), Bancomext and ING. For FRV, this solar project will be the first to be operated in the country.
It was awarded in the second auction held by the National Center for Energy Control (CENACE) in September 2016 and was followed by the power purchase agreement (PPA) with CFE Suministro Basico in March 2017.
The solar farm will be located 60km northeast of the city of Zacatecas in the State of San Luis de Potosí, near a major network infrastructure. The solar farm will be connected to the national electricity grid and is expected to generate enough electricity to power around 150,000 Mexican households as well as could help in offsetting about 600,000 tons of CO2 per year.
TSK has secured the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the solar farm, which will be built on 800 hectares of land. It will start the construction early this year and the solar plant is expected to operational by early next year.
The construction phase is expected to create up to 300 jobs and the operational phase could create 17 potentially permanent jobs.
FRV CEO Rafael Benjumea said: “Mexico has enormous renewables potential. That is why we are committed to bringing clean energy and job creation in the country. This particular project will contribute to socio-economic development and allow us to continue leading international trends in the production of clean, competitive and sustainable energy.”
Image: FRV closes finance for 342MW Mexican solar plant. Photo: Courtesy of Fotowatio Renewable Ventures B.V.
