CFE advances in the generation of electricity with clean energies

Alejandro Alegría Periódico La Jornada

Tuesday, February 7, 2023, p. 15The

generation of electricity with clean energies by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has made progress in the last two years, according to data from the state-owned company, which will soon add to its energy supply the energy produced in the photovoltaic park in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora

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Information from the state electric company reveals that up to the first half of last year the production of hydroelectric, nuclear -which is considered clean by the authorities-, as well as geothermoelectric energy, added up to 18.9 percent of the total produced.

The figure is higher compared to 2020, when electricity generation from the three sources totaled 18.5 percent, although it was lower compared to 2021, when CFE reported a total of 22.1 percent.

The firm stresses that generation through clean energy is explained by the growth in the contribution of hydroelectric.

The energy produced in dams through the power of water went from representing 11.4 percent of CFE's total generation in 2020 to 14.8 percent the following year and through the first half of 2022 it contributed 12.3 percent.

Electricity production with nuclear power, which is produced at Laguna Verde, Veracruz, in 2020 contributed 11.4 percent of CFE's total power.

In 2021 the contribution increased to 5.3 percent, while for the first half of last year it stood at 4.5 percent.

Geothermoelectric generation, which is derived from the Earth's internal heat, has remained stable, since in the three reference years it practically did not vary from 2.1 percent

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If we add wind power generation by independent power producers (IPP) for the CFE, production through clean sources was 19.6 percent in the first half of last year.

The contribution of energy produced by wind to the CFE's energy mix has not shown great variation, since in three years it has been between 0.8 and 0.7 percent.

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contrast, electricity generation with coal, one of the most polluting materials as it produces the greatest amount of greenhouse gases, also showed progress. Energy production through this source was 6 percent in 2020, while the following year it dropped to only contribute 4.2 percent of the company's total electricity.

However,

by the first half of 2022, energy production with coal increased, representing 7.1 percent of the state-owned company's entire generation.

CFE acknowledged that greenhouse gas emissions from the coal-fired power plants it owns went from 22.4 percent in 2021 to 32.

However, the state-owned company expects the Puerto Peñasco Photovoltaic Plant to contribute 1,000 megawatts to the total electricity generation capacity, although in its first phase it will only provide 120 megawatts.

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addition, it has other projects such as the rehabilitation of hydroelectric plants and the production of green hydrogen in Puerto Libertad, with which the generation of electricity with clean energies will increase in the following years

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