Continued Success With
FIRCO Leads to Replication
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The
largest component of the Mexico Renewable Energy Program
is implemented through a partnership between Sandia and
FIRCO (Fideicomiso de Riesgo Compartido), a trust fund
for shared risk under the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture.
FIRCO oversees technical aspects of agricultural development
projects throughout Mexico, focusing its joint efforts
with Sandia mainly on the use of renewables for water
pumping applications.
Since
late 1994, Sandia has provided technical assistance to
FIRCO for pilot-projects, by training targeted audiences
on the use of renewable energy technologies, researching
and establishing financing mechanisms, and monitoring
and evaluating installed projects. At present, projects
are cost-shared by end users, the federal and state governments,
and Sandia. But US cost-share percentages are expected
to decrease dramatically as Mexican financial participation
increases, stimulated by the usefulness and cost-effectiveness
of these early pilot projects.
FIRCO
has recently become the lead technical agency in the implementation
of the Alianza Para El Campo program (the Alliance for
Rural Areas), a Mexican rural development program geared
toward a combined government and private investment of
$1.8 billion over the next four years. As part of this
program, FIRCO has requested that Sandia increase its
technical assistance to include a broader geographical
area, thereby increasing significantly the impact of renewable
technologies.
Together they are working to expand the use of renewables
and determine potential markets for renewables, both under
Alianza and in the context of other development programs.
FIRCO has demonstrated the capability to identify and
evaluate projects with excellent potential for replication
and a high probability of success.
Many
New Projects Implemented
Over
30 renewable energy water pumping projects began this
quarter in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Sonora, Baja
California Sur and Quintana Roo, where Sandia and FIRCO
have already established strong working relationships.
In Baja
California Sur, the Sandia-FIRCO partnership has generated
widespread interest throughout the State, illustrated
by informal proposals for hundreds of photovoltaic water
pumping projects received by FIRCO and the State government
from local producers. Eight photovoltaic water pumping
systems were installed here through FIRCO this quarter,
benefiting 37 families (around 250 people). The Sandia
team worked with three local system installers who, with
the help of their primary equipment suppliers, are gaining
valuable renewable energy experience. All systems installed
to date are performing better than expected, which has
stimulated the State program here to extend extend to
other applications, such as milking machines and electric
fences.
FIRCO
continues to express a strong interest in developing its
technical capabilities with wind energy, and is actively
seeking quality wind applications. The Sandia Team is
assessing wind resources from five key coastal sites throughout
the state, looking towards future installations of wind
pumping systems or hybrid wind-diesel systems.
In Chihuahua,
the Chihuahua Renewables Working Group, comprised of Sandia
and several state rural development organizations, including
FIRCO, approved 15 new water pumping projects to be implemented
in the spring of 1997. The group also formally adopted
an agreement to work with the Alianza para el Campo program.
Another important development in Chihuahua was the commitment
made by a Federal credit institution, BANRURAL, to the
Trust Fund for Agricultural Land Economic Development
in Chihuahua (FIDEAPECH), providing a line of credit of
$496,000 (US) for renewable energy projects in the agriculture
and cattle raising sector of the state. Sandia is providing
20% of the money to back this line of credit.
In Sonora,
FIRCO initiated a package of projects consisting of four
photovoltaic water pumping systems for livestock watering.
All four systems are similar in size-770-1000W arrays
powering submersible pumps that produce 12 to 18 cubic
meters of water per day, a positive economic impact of
these projects being felt by the 42 families (about 250
people) on these four ranches.
Stirred
by their interest in FIRCO's use of photovoltaic pump
technology, other cattle ranchers in Sonora installed
this quarter six photovoltaic water pumping systems. Four
were implemented by the Sonora cattlemen's union with
federal government funds, provided as part of a drought
relief program and benefiting a total of 26 families (about
175 people). The other two projects were undertaken by
individual ranch owners who took advantage of the newly
established Alianza program, which shares up to 50% of
equipment costs with farmers and cattlemen investing in
renewable energy projects.
In Quintana Roo, FIRCO is actively pursuing wind projects,
knowing that a widespread resource exists and that, in
many cases, wind technology is the most economical option.
Sandia, FIRCO, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
and the University of Quintana Roo are working to develop
reliable estimates of the wind resource throughout the
state. Five anemometers are presently installed in potential
project sites, and data will be collected from these and
other locations for the duration of the program.
Procurement
of four photovoltaic and three wind water pumping projects
has been initiated with FIRCO, although further wind resource
information is needed in at least two of the potential
wind sites on the Gulf of Mexico.
Sandia
Extending Technical Assistance
As FIRCO
takes on broader responsibilities nationwide with its
role in the Alianza Para el Campo program, Sandia is extending
its technical assistance in the application of renewable
energy technologies to the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Chiapas,
Veracruz, and San Luis Potosí. Although Sandia
will share the cost of a small number of projects in these
states for promotional purposes, the bulk of project implementation
funds will come from a combination of end-user, state,
and federal government funds.
Thus
far, most new Sandia activity with FIRCO has been in the
state of Veracruz, where FIRCO engineers have identified
12 prospective water pumping projects as a result of two
informal Sandia-led training exercises. Plans for a more
formal workshop in the spring of 1997 have also been initiated.
In the
other states, important contacts have been established,
and FIRCO managers and engineers in both states have begun
the process of project identification and evaluation.
Looking
Ahead
FIRCO
has taken some important steps to solidify the position
of renewable energy sources in its future programs.
A "line
item" on renewable energy projects was written into
Alianza Para el Campo regulations to facilitate government
investment subsidies.
A standardized
technical manual for use in the FIRCO program, developed
for this purpose by team members of the Mexico Renewable
Energy Program, will soon be available to FIRCO engineers
conversant with photovoltaic and wind technologies.
Other
activities planned for 1997 include developing promotional
materials to explain renewables to agricultural producers;
coordinating between FIRCO and other agricultural sector
agencies; working on financing agencies and end-user financing
mechanisms; project identification, screening, development,
and
implementation; organizing training courses.
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(Renewable
Energy in Mexico) (Program
Partners) (Ecotourism)
(Water Pumping)
