Mexico City — As several countries in Latin America move toward a decarbonization of their power matrix, Mexico generated more electricity with coal-fired plants during 2022 compared to the previous year, according to the most recent data from the National Energy Control Center (Cenace).
Electricity generated with coal-fired technology grew from an annual average of 995 megawatt-hours (MWh) each month during 2021 to 1,621 MWh in 2022, an uptick of 61.3%.
During the past year, coal-fired electricity accounted for 4% of the total in electricity generated for the national grid, growth of one percentage point compared to the 2021 figure.
Natural gas and combined cycle plants continue to dominate the electricity generation matrix in the country with 58% of the total installed capacirty, followed by hydroelectric with 11% ,and conventional thermoelectric plants using fossil fuels.
Mexico’s ,state-owned utilty CFE operates three coal-fired power plants: José López Portillo, Carbón II in the municipality of Nava, Coahuila, as well as the Plutarco Elías Calles plant in the municipality of La Unión, Guerrero.
The company led by Manuel Bartlett Díaz defends the use of coal, saying that the plants operate in line with the current standard NOM-085-SEMARNAT-2011, which establishes the maximum permissible emission levels for fossil fuel-burning plants.
Coal-fired plants in Mexico are among the 2,330 plants of such type globally, with the biggest users of coal-fired plants being China, the United States and India, with a combined total of 1,485 power plants.
Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his energy team began his six-year term in 2018 criticizing renewable energy, such as wind and solar, due to their intermittency and the cost of backing them up with conventional technology that uses fossil fuels.
However, pressured by the US government to enact a policy shift, López Obrador has said he is willing to put the country and CFE into debt in order to export renewables-generated electricity to the country’s northern neighbor.