Companies in the sector are eyeing the so-called Model City with regard to solar panel or wind energy projects, but these can only be triggered if companies arrive to set up shop, warns the association that brings them together.
The president of the Puebla Energy Cluster in Mexico, Sergio Zugasti Mattar, said that his sector will be important in consolidating projects for Ciudad Modelo, where the Audi automaker and its suppliers are located, as the next state government intends to do with respect to attracting new investments not only in the automotive sector but also in technology.
He considered this type of announcement important for Claudia Sheinbaum's next six-year term, but the reality is that the Ciudad Modelo area also needs to land investments in energy supply, emphasizing that clean energy is vital to reduce costs.
In this regard, he said that the electricity supply in the area where Audi is located within the municipality of San José Chiapa, needs to be more efficient, because under current conditions it is not very attractive to install companies with high demand for the service, despite the availability of hectares.
Zugasti Mattar said that building a power substation is feasible, as the new government, which will take office on December 14, intends, but foreign companies are betting more on clean energy, because that is how things work in Europe.
In this context, he said that companies in the sector have their sights set on Ciudad Modelo with regard to solar panel or wind energy projects, but they can only be launched if companies arrive to set up shop.
"German, French, English and Canadian clean energy companies are interested in investing in Puebla," he said.
THE RELEVANCE OF NEARSHORING
Zugasti Mattar stressed that nearshoring should not be overlooked, and that the Puebla authorities should focus on it, because the state is ideally positioned to operate in any sector due to its geographical position.
He said that if we add to this attraction the fact that there are clean energy projects, it will help companies to come here without thinking twice.
He considered that the cluster can help consolidate Ciudad Modelo in industrial matters and in the supply of quality energy that represents savings in terms of productivity and competitiveness.
Without giving names, he said, there are at least five companies in the cluster that have partners and are just waiting for new investments to arrive in the industrial zone of San José Chiapa, to promote wind or photovoltaic parks.
“At the moment, the most common projects are photovoltaic projects in companies that have high energy consumption, such as the textile and automotive industries, where panels are being installed that imply significant savings in electricity,” he said.
He acknowledged that only 2 kilometers of solar potential have been exploited with the installation of photovoltaic parks, when it could be greater.
