Mexico’s Querétaro state is looking to finance US$300mn in transmission investments to boost its energy supply.
Querétaro is planning to build 140km of lines, a project that could be paid for directly by the state government or financed by private firms, the head of the state’s energy agency, Mauricio Reyes, said at a sustainable energy event.
Construction is slated to begin this year and take two years to finish, and the lines will become property of federal power utility CFE, local press reported him as saying.
“As a state we will make the investment in coordination and fulfilling all the requirements both of the grid coordinator [Cenace] and of CFE,” said Reyes.
Querétaro will benefit from being able to import more energy, he said, adding that it is not willing to wait for CFE to make the necessary investments.
Governor Mauricio Kuri said energy consumption in the state was growing due to nearshoring investments, with many companies expecting access to renewables supply.
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Sonora state could benefit from setting up a roadmap for green hydrogen development, according to a civil society organization.
This would bring the state in line with Nuevo León, which currently leads in the drafting of a green hydrogen action plan, which is currently in a public comments process.
“Several northern states are starting to conduct studies, development routes for green hydrogen, since there is no national strategy yet,” said Fernando Rodríguez Tovar, director of the Sonora energy cluster, an association that brings together companies, government entities and universities to promote local energy development.
“We are going to push for this conversation from the cluster, sadly it has not been done in the state so far like it has been in others, a development on the part of the state government, but we will push for it,” Rodríguez told BNamericas.
With ample access to the Pacific Ocean and solar radiation, Sonora would be in an advantageous position to export green ammoia to Asian markets.
While non-government entities like hydrogen trade group H2 México have drafted action plans and made estimates of the country’s potential, the green hydrogen industry has yet to be prioritized by energy authorities at a national level.
Mexico lags regional peers like Chile, Uruguay and Brazil when it comes to promoting green hydrogen. Drafting a national plan that includes financing and regulation, as well as setting target dates, is seen as a key public policy step toward developing a local industry.
Hydrogen will play a growing role in the trilateral agenda between the US, Canada and Mexico, who recently said they would work together to create regional standards with the goal of developing “a North American clean hydrogen market” with cross-border hydrogen clusters.