Enel starts construction of Don José solar power plant in Mexico

Don José’s construction works were inaugurated during an event attended by the Guanajuato State Governor Miguel Márquez Márquez, the Mayor of the San Luis De La Paz municipality Guillermo Rodríguez Contreras, and Paolo Romanacci, Enel’s Head of Renewable Energies for Central America.

“Today’s announcement marks an important milestone for our presence in Mexico, as Don José is the final project to begin construction from the 1 GW of capacity awarded to Enel in the country’s first long-term public tender following its energy reforms,” said Paolo Romanacci. “This milestone further strengthens our leadership in the Mexican renewable energy sector, while confirming our commitment and ability to successfully contribute to the country’s growth in a sustainable and innovative way.”  

Don José will have an installed capacity of 238 MW1 and once completed will be able to produce 539 GWh per year, equivalent to the annual energy consumption needs of around 410,000 Mexican households, while avoiding the emission of over 245,000 tonnes of CO2  into the atmosphere.

Enel will be investing approximately 220 million US dollars in the construction of Don José, which is expected to enter into operation in 2018. The project will be supported by a contract providing for the sale to Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission (Comisión Federal de Electricidad in Spanish or CFE) of both specified volumes of energy over a 15-year period and the related clean certificates over a 20-year period. Enel was awarded Don José in the long-term public tender held in Mexico last year, in which the company won the most capacity of any other participating player.

Enel, through EGPM, is the largest renewable energy operator in Mexico in terms of installed capacity. EGPM currently operates 728 MW, of which 675 MW come from wind and 53 MW from hydroelectric power. The company recently started construction of the 754 MW1 Villanueva solar project, which is the largest PV facility under construction in the Americas and Enel’s largest solar project worldwide, and the 200 MW Amistad wind farm, both located in the state of Coahuila. EGPM will also build the 93 MW Salitrillos wind project in the state of Tamaulipas.