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LA JOLLA – Clean energy produced by geothermal plants, wind turbines and solar farms is providing secure and reliable energy for Baja California, said David Muñoz Andrade, director general of the

Energy Commission of the state of Baja California, during a regional conference at the Institute of the Americas

“We can’t really consume all the energy we have. If we factor in all the renewable or clean energy potential we have in Baja California and factor in energy demand and the growth in energy consumption, we still have a surplus,” Muñoz told an audience of almost 100 at the Clean Energy in the Californias conference organized Nov. 7 by the Institute of the Americas in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“The surplus yields opportunities, particularly to the export market in California,” Muñoz said.  “Clean energy could, and actually does, contribute to Baja California’s energy security mainly because there are local sources of power – geothermal, wind, solar.”

Muñoz made his comments during a keynote address opening the conference, which focused on the current political and technological realities of renewable energy policy as well as the role of supply chains, smart grids and storage and transmission infrastructure.

Because Baja California is not connected to the Mexican national grid, Muñoz said the ties between Baja and neighboring California are critical to energy security in the region. The CFE has purchased 100 of acres in Mexicali for geothermal fields.

“The state government is promoting renewable energy sources in Baja California not just because it’s good business, not just because we have the potential, but also because it has strategic importance because they are all local resources,” he said.   “This doesn’t mean that we’re going to be 100 percent dependent on wind.  But if we put policies in place to diversify our energy mix, that’s where it gets healthier, that’s where it gets competitive, that’s where we promote greater investments.”

Muñoz noted that the power generation from renewable energy sources within the Baja California-California area, “is not just energy for emergency purposes. It’s actually a commercial operation. It’s an operation that yields great opportunities for investment. It’s very dynamic. It has huge potential because of Baja California’s own electricity demand.”

While Baja California is not as populous as other Mexican states, energy consumption is growing at an annual rate of about 5 percent per year.

To respond to the demand, Baja California has “all the different types of private and public activity in the generation of electricity,” Muñoz said. “We have power importers, that have import permits from CRE, the federal energy regulatory commission, and they purchase power from San Diego Gas & Electric. We have power exporters like Sempra that export power to the California market.  We have independent power producers that have power purchase agreements with CFE (Mexico's state-owned Federal Electric Commission). We also have self-suppliers like the state of Baja California with the city of Mexicali. And we have public service power plants.”

The state is experimenting will several types of renewable energy./p>

The CFE has purchased 100 of acres in Mexicali for geothermal fields, an effort that will demonstrate which technology is better for Baja California. A Taiwan-based company is making a $500 million investment over the next five to 10 years to develop and manufacture photovoltaic systems that will supply power to Baja California and to the US market. And Sempra will launch a wind energy project early next year that will generate 156 megawatts of power during the first phase for the California market.

“This is very good for Baja California and California and the objectives we share,”Muñoz noted that the commercial aspects of power generation and export are creating jobs on both sides of the border.  He cited the La Rumorosa wind farm built by the state government that generates 10 megawatts of power. The 255-foot steel towers were manufactured in Fontana, Ca and the blades were manufactured in Grand Forks, North Dakota, before being shipped to Baja California.

“This is very good for Baja California and California and the objectives we share,” he said.

While Baja California has made great strides in renewable energy, Duncan Wood, International Relations Program Director at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM) criticized federal inaction in the key area of renewable power.

Wood called the lack of support by Mexico’s federal government “frustrating” and said funding has not matched the political rhetoric.

Panelists were also critical of the California legislature, saying recent efforts in Sacramento to block cross-border electric interconnection is at odds with state law mandating 33% renewable energy generation by 2020.

Cutting across all of the discussions was the issue of regional impact. Speakers underscored the positive role for clean energy projects to further strengthen the competitiveness of California-Baja California as a region.

Gilberto Garcia of GE Energy, developers of a smart grid project in San Diego, emphasized that the issue is not whether the region is integrated.In his opinion, the key is how to work together to deepen and improve clean energy’s regional impact, especially in terms of integration.