Jorge Garcia Moreno Villarreal

Renewable Electricity in Mexico: Scenarios for 2024Evaluate Mexico’s electricity generation mix and propose a potential transition into a more sustainable electricity mix.

Jorge Garcia Moreno Villarreal

Renewable Electricity in Mexico: Scenarios for 2024
Evaluate Mexico’s electricity generation mix and propose a potential transition into a more sustainable electricity mix.

A century and a half after becoming a mainstream technology, electricity is used by nearly 80% of the world’s population (IEOa, 2011).  Between 1973 and 2009, world electricity production increased from 6,129 TWh to 20,130 TWh, an average annual growth rate of 3.4% (IEAa, 2011). Moreover, electricity consumption is predicted to increase throughout the world by 1.2% per year for the next 20 years (IEAb, 2011), predominantly in developing countries.
There is a high dependency on fossil fuels for electricity generation; 67.1% of the world’s electricity is generated from burning fossil fuels.  This presents two main problems.  First, using fossil fuels causes climate change due to an increase emission of Green House Gasses to the atmosphere. And second, fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource.  However, since climate change could render this planet lifeless before we ran out of fossil fuels (Monbiot, 2012 & Scot, 2012), the renewability problem will not be addressed in this dissertation.
Renewable technologies offer a viable electricity generation solution.  Hydroelectricity, wind turbines and solar PV are three technologies that are proven, readily available and can be deployed at a large enough scale without unleashing new environmental problems.
Today, we find ourselves at a point in history where electricity can once again change the world we live in.   Economic stability, social equality, and the global environment are all linked to the future development of electricity system (Jamasb, Nuttall & Pollitt, 2006).  The purpose of this dissertation is to explore electricity generation scenarios in Mexico and look into the level of compromise required to meet its commitment to generate 35% of its electricity through renewable technologies by 2024.