American energy firm SunPower has secured power purchasing agreements (PPAs) in an auction conducted in Mexico to supply one terawatt-hour of energy, which is equivalent to about 500MW.
SunPower will supply the solar energy to Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) over the term of the agreement.
The auction was part of the reforms undertaken by the Mexican government to open up the domestic energy sector for private sector participation.
The projects that SunPower has won in the auction include the installation of about 400MW in Yucatan and over100MW in Guanajuato.
Overall, the company has 20% of the total energy, and 25% of the solar energy, awarded from the energy auction, according to the auction results released by Mexico’s National Center for Energy Control (CENACE).
SunPower president and CEO Tom Werner said: "With more than seven gigawatts of solar power systems around the world using our high performance technology, SunPower has the experience and expertise to deliver reliable, cost-competitive solar power to serve Mexico’s growing energy demand.
"SunPower is proud to have this opportunity to partner with CFE to accelerate Mexico’s transition to a robust clean energy economy."
The company hopes to start the construction of the project this year. After the completion of the project, it will offer operations and maintenance services, including monitoring power plant production.
In December last year, SunPower had signed a long term power purchase agreement with Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, a private airport group in Mexico, to deliver 36MW of solar power.
Currently, SunPower has a manufacturing facility in Mexico, with a capacity to produce over one gigawatt of high efficiency solar panels annually.
Last month, the company had announced the start of construction of 27MW -peak (MWp) photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Honshu Island in Japan, in partnership with ISE Group, and Total.
While ISE will own 50% stake in the project, Total and its affiliate SunPower will hold a stake of 25% each.