Successfully Advancing Energy Conservation Efforts in Mexico

Jeannie Renné and Mónica Pérez Ortiz, National Renewable Energy Laboratory/U.S. Department of Energy
Shelley Cohen, Ameresco

Keywords

Abstract

To promote energy efficiency project development in Mexico, a program was developed, through the US Climate Technology Partnership, to enhance opportunities for Energy Services Companies (ESCOs). The objective of this effort is to support ESCOs from both countries to encourage business partnerships that develop energy conservation and renewable energy projects in Mexico. This is accomplished by fostering strategic alliances among Mexican and US ESCOs to promote international cooperation, technology transfer, and leverage financial resources from international lending institutions in an effort to ensure that ESCO partners are successful in developing energy efficiency projects. The benefit of these partnerships is that the partners can combine their talents and strengths to offer clients and financiers attractive turnkey projects with reduced risk and transaction costs.

Through this initiative, the US and Mexican ESCO partners have explored and are now pursuing energy conservation projects in Mexico. These business partnerships represent the first US/Mexican collaboration and negotiated projects through the US Climate Technology Partnership. As the ESCO scheme is still an emerging market in Mexico, the program team plans to capitalize on the experience and success achieved throughout this process in an effort to open Mexican markets to numerous other energy saving opportunities.

This paper discusses the details involved in these successful partnerships, the status of the Mexican ESCO market, and the strategies employed to reduce barriers to project development.