Mexico’s state-owned power utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (Federal Electricity Commission) (CFE) awarded 37 renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 7,411 MW in its first mixed investment tender.

The awarded capacity exceeded the 6,500 MW target set by Mexico’s Secretaría de Energía, the country’s energy ministry, by 14%, according to results published by Energia a Debate.

The tender drew more than 200 projects representing nearly 38 GW of capacity. After technical, financial, and economic assessments, 37 projects were selected for development.

Solar projects accounted for most of the awarded capacity. Around 6,710 MW of solar projects were selected against a requirement of 3,550 MW.

With a project allocation of just 700 MW, wind projects couldn’t meet the 2,850 MW target, which accounted for 24.6% of the required capacity. No solar thermal projects were selected, even though the tender had included a 100 MW target for them.

Of the 37 selected projects, 20 are in the Yucatán Peninsula and Northeast region of the country and account for more than half of the awarded capacity.

The selected projects in the Northeast region included El Chorro, Santa Gertrudis, El Guajillo, Montecristo, Energeo Los Molinos, and the Northeast Region Wind Project.

In the peninsular region, the selected projects included Tikinmul, Kiin, SAAS, Haab Kiin, Dalia 3 PV, Global Solar 3 Campeche, and Los Girasoles.

The Western region recorded the largest gap between the selected projects and the requested capacity. Only 310 MW capacity was awarded to the region against a requirement of 1,540 MW, covering 20% of the target. Sixteen projects from the region were also declared void.

Several private developers bagged multiple projects under the tender. Securing four projects, Cubico Mexico emerged as one of the most active participants. Other companies that bagged selected projects included Thermion Energy, Eléctrica Aselco, Atlantica Renewable Power, Solarig, Oak Creek, Elawan, Fisterra Energy, and Freeman Energy.

The active participation in the tender reflected the rising private sector interest in Mexico’s power infrastructure under the mixed investment framework.