Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

is rapidly growing its production of

wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...

. In 2016, its installed capacity had reached 3,527 MW, increasing to 8,128 MW in 2020. In 2008, there were three wind farms in the country. The Eurus Wind Farm was the largest wind farm in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. 18 of 27 wind farms construction projects were based in La Ventosa in the

Isthmus of Tehuantepec The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the T ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

. According to the Mexican Wind Energy Association, Mexico was predicted to progress to rank twentieth worldwide in wind capacity by the end of 2012, and to produce four percent of the country's total electricity production. It also projected that the nation would have of wind generation capacity by 2020, and would be able to provide fifteen percent of Mexico's production. Brian Gardner,

Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, ...

's energy analyst, said, "With strong wind through the south, consistent sunlight in the north and a stable market, Mexico is well positioned for continued renewables growth". Wind power is in partial competition with

Solar power in Mexico Solar power in Mexico has the potential to produce vast amounts of energy. 70% of the country has an insolation of greater than 4.5 kWh/m2/day. Using 15% efficient photovoltaics, a square on each side in the state of Chihuahua or the Sonoran De ...

Resource Availability

Mexico's wind availability is high, with some areas in the south producing average wind speeds upwards of 10m/s. However, while the country has ample wind, it lacks incentives to build the infrastructure to harness it.

has become the central point from which wind power is expanding, due to its ideal geography, specifically its

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

. Its

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...

separates the area's eastern mountain chain, the Sierra de Chiapas, from its western mountain chains, the Sierra de Oaxaca and Sierra Madre del Sur, creating a tunnel effect through which strong winds flow. According to the Wind Energy Atlas of Oaxaca, if the useable area of Oaxaca alone were occupied with turbines to its capacity, it is estimated that upwards of 44GW could be produced.

Statistics

References

External links

Wind Energy Country Analyses Mexico
{{Wind power by country

Resource Availability

Statistics

See also

References

External links