Energy storage in Mexico, awaiting regulation

Julian Willenbrock, CEO of the solar energy solutions company Enlight, explained to El Economista that the country already has the technology to store up to 1.5 megawatts of energy, which already allows users of all sizes and in all types of interconnections , including the wholesale electricity market and large industry, have access to photovoltaic generation without interruption, but legislation is required in this regard, which is expected to be published by the current administration before the end of the six-year term.

Storage on this large scale is accomplished by lithium batteries. The largest lithium battery with a capacity of 150 megawatts, owned by Tesla, is located in Australia, but Mexico is in tune with Latin America and the increase in solar energy installations is expected to continue, especially through distributed energy, which Clear rules regarding storage possibilities are becoming increasingly necessary, the Enlight manager told El Economista.

“It will be strategic that in the medium and long term it is defined not only who will be able to explore and exploit minerals for storage, but also how much will have to be paid as royalties to the State for this activity,” said Willenbrock.

Today, in Mexico there are only exploration works in lithium mines, but once the potential of this material is defined, its exploitation can begin.

Although Mexico could take up to 20 years to extract lithium, the state company LitioMX must be installed no later than the first days of next year, to carry out the exploration and extraction of this material that will be strategic for the storage of electricity, then that the swearing-in of the Administration Congress of the new company, whose general director will be Pablo Taddei, took place in the Ministry of Energy.

LitioMX was created on August 23 as a result of the reform of the Mining Law. According to the transitory provisions of its creation decree, the Board of Directors had to be installed in a period not exceeding 60 calendar days, which occurred 28 days after it was published.

According to the United States Geological Statistics Center (USGS), Mexico ranks tenth out of 23 countries with lithium reserves to be certified, with which it has almost 2% of this material under exploration. In 2023, the first lithium battery plant will be installed in Sonora, with an investment of 80 million dollars, reported Armando Villa Orduño, the state’s Secretary of Economy.

karol.garcia@eleconomista.mx