Solar installations were up 62% in 2019, according to the Mexican Solar Energy Association (Asolmex).

It said 5,000 megawatts of solar energy capacity were installed, the equivalent of powering 25 million homes.

“Today there are 63 functioning solar power plants in 16 states of the republic, 24 more than at the end of 2018. Among them is the largest solar plant in the Americas, located in Viesca, Coahuila,” Asolmex said in a press release.

The US $8.5 billion in investments in the sector generated over 64,000 jobs throughout the whole value chain and a reduction of over 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide — the equivalent of taking 13 million cars off the road.

There were 112,660 contracts for solar panel roofing in Mexico by the end of 2019, distributed among residential, commercial and industrial users, totaling an installed potential of 818 megawatts.

Asolmex added that the country has big potential for rooftop solar energy production. It estimated that Mexico’s 29 largest cities have a total of 10,000 square kilometers of available rooftop space that could potentially produce 84,000 megawatts of power.

“The boost in the solar energy sector contributes toward the government’s goal of energy sovereignty, in terms of access to clean and competitive energy across the country, as well as diversifying the energy mix,” said Asolmex.

Source: Milenio (sp)