THE CLIMATE RACE
Mexico eyes next export: Wind energy
In the Mexican state of Baja California, the government and
international corporations want to build wind farms that could generate
enough electricity to power homes in the United States while boosting
the state's economy. Sam Eaton reports.
Baja California's Energy Commission Director David Munoz Andrade says
the Mexican state has enough wind to supply millions of homes in
California with clean electricity. (Sam Eaton / Marketplace)
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TEXT OF STORY
KAI RYSSDAL: Negotiators are trying to figure out what is exactly going
to get done at next month's climate-change meeting in Copenhagen. The
global economy, though, waits for no one. And a lot of countries have
already started trying to capitalize on their green industries. That has
been the subject of our series "The Climate Race" this week. Today, how
Mexico is trying to build its low-carbon economy. Sam Eaton reports now
from Baja.
________________________________________
SAM EATON: The tiny Mexican border town, La Rumorosa, got its name from
the sound the wind makes as it whips across the area's rock-strewn
ridges. But today La Rumorosa's centuries-old name is taking on new
meaning.
That's the sound of 300-foot tall wind turbines the Baja government just
installed here. Their giant, spinning blades are the first to tap into
what's considered the most consistent winds in all of North America.
And if David Munoz with Baja California's Energy Commission has his way,
these five turbines are only the beginning.
DAVID MUNOZ: What this project means is that the state government is
putting an example to take a look at Baja California and see that the
wind does really blow and there's a huge potential to grasp that
resource and turn it into something productive.
And something profitable. The electricity from these turbines will be
used in Baja's capital city, Mexicali. But Munoz says that's only a
fraction of what's possible. Experts say there's enough wind here to
power millions of homes.
MUNOZ: Here in Baja California we have a surplus of renewable energy
potential, and we can't consume all that power.
Just to the north, however, California, can't get enough. It's
experiencing a shortage as it tries to get 20 percent of its electricity
from sources other than natural gas and coal. Munoz says Mexico would be
happy to fill that gap and earn a profit doing it. It just needs the
capital to make it happen.
MUNOZ: If we really want to make these big projects and displace a huge
amounts of greenhouse gases and produce a lot of energy and so on and so
forth, what we need is private players who come in and share the risk
and share the investment.
And help Mexico get a foothold in a new global economy that's less
dependent on fossil fuels. Today oil accounts for nearly half of the
Mexican government's annual revenues. And an increasing number of
politicians here see that as a vulnerability.
One of them is Baja's Governor Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan.
JOSE GUADALUPE OSUNA MILLAN: The key is diversification. We see
less-developed countries can not only gain extraordinary benefits
economically, but also with regard to sustainability.
Multinational energy companies also see a chance to profit in Mexico.
Several, including U.S.-based Sempra Energy and Spain's Union Fenosa,
have already gotten permits to develop huge wind farms near La Rumorosa.
Tom Houston is a lawyer who puts these kinds of deals together. And he
says they offer a sort of test case for how rich and poor nations can
collaborate.
TOM HOUSTON: In working out the issues on how you get wind power from
Mexico into California, you're working out on a micro scale what has to
be worked out world wide on a macro scale.
One of the major sticking points holding up a new international climate
treaty is whether rich countries should pay poor ones to fight the
global warming they essentially caused by burning oil and coal. And if
so how would it be done? One option is to create a new global climate
fund. But Houston says in countries like Mexico, where corruption is
rampant, that could be a disaster.
HOUSTON: Government funding does not work. Period. There's a
disappearance of money. For whatever reason it never ends up getting
spent on the project it's supposed to be spent on.
Houston says direct foreign investment, on the other hand, yields far
greater results, much faster. And there's a good reason for that.
Al Sweedler directs the Center for Energy Studies at San Diego State
University.
AL SWEEDLER: The bottom line is it has to be driven by self interests.
Unless people think there's something in it for them, they can say all
the nice words but nothing's going to happen. And what we've learned
here is that it's a benefit for us to have this energy relationship with
Mexico. And it's a benefit for them.
Especially for Baja, which is struggling with drought and high
unemployment.
Last week in Tecate, Mexico, Sempra Energy held a public hearing on a
proposed wind farm north of La Rumorosa. Once completed it could supply
enough energy to power more than 300,000 homes in the U.S. And create
hundreds of Mexican jobs. According to a group of local ranchers
gathered outside, that foreign investment is critical.
Fifty-six-year-old Tezoc Dukes has raised cattle in the nearby Sierra de
Juarez Mountains his entire life. But he says in the last few years the
annual rains they've depended on for generations have stopped coming.
TEZOC DUKES: It's very serious. Before in the Sierra de Juarez we used
to have maybe 10,000 cows, and now there aren't even 500. Our way of
life is ending. A lot of people have had to go into town to work. The
ranches are being abandoned.
Sempra is offering to pay local ranchers $500 a month to put dozens of
turbines on their land. Dukes' neighbor Orsilio Gandolfi Altamirano says
it's no fortune, but it's enough to keep them in business.
ORSILIO GANDOLFI ALTAMIRANO: The Americans are the rich business
partners. We're the poor ones. But we need them. It's about time the two
regions were united. We have the things they don't have. But they have
the money, they've always had the money. The bastards.
Altamirano says a border fence may divide Baja from the United States,
but when it comes to climate change, political boundaries no longer
matter.
Baja has the Potential, but all it lacks is the FUNDING. I've got a lot of potential that could be realized with
enough funding.
IF the Business had such great Profit POTENTIAL, funding could be found.
The FACT is that NO significant Solar or WIND projects have been built ANYWHERE without Government subsidies because they DON'T pay for themselves.
Much is made that they can show "Operational" profits AFTER installation, BUT those figures require discounting the Installation costs.
But, Baja is a Magical place so maybe it will Magically occur.
Baja has the Potential, but all it lacks is the FUNDING. I've got a lot of potential that could be realized with
enough funding.
IF the Business had such great Profit POTENTIAL, funding could be found.
The FACT is that NO significant Solar or WIND projects have been built ANYWHERE without Government subsidies because they DON'T pay for themselves.
Much is made that they can show "Operational" profits AFTER installation, BUT those figures require discounting the Installation costs.
But, Baja is a Magical place so maybe it will Magically occur.
mr bile: the sempra baja rumorosa wind project is being built to primarily export power to US, and as such is being built to take advantage of sale
of power to US utilities and will take advanatge of US production tax credit. the tax credits serve a useful purpose in facilitating alternative
power technology and development, and as fossil fuel prices increase the wind and solar projects will at some point be feasible without tax credits
(also, fossil fuel prices are artificially low due to costs that producers do not pay -- fossil fuel producers rely on US military to keep oil and gas
fields and shipping routes open and safe, but producers do not pay for military). i wonder sometimes at critics that take target at tax credits, as
the US govt has historically provided tax breaks to many people and industries as a means to promote goals. if you criticize the alt power PTCs, you
should criticize the mortgage tax deductions, the dependant tax deductions, and most any tax advantage enjoyed by any individual or industry.
in mexico, electric power is heavily susidized by govt, so alternative power has not been feasible yet, but perhaps will someday when subsidies are
extended to alt power projects.
re DK's Q about bird and bat strikes, such has been a significant problem at Altamont pass and a few other places, but has not been a problem at many
other sites.
Originally posted by Paulclark
And how many have choked to death from coal fumes?
If there REALLY was 'Global Warming' then everyone who uses coal to heat their homes in winter, could stop! You would have people freeze or lose their
jobs than burn coal?
Reality is winters are getting colder, coal is plentiful and cheap and in the USA, and we have been developing clean coal technology the birds can
live with!
I live on the Pacific, and we use natural gas to heat our homes... because it isn't getting any warmer here either!
Originally posted by David K
If there REALLY was 'Global Warming'
dk:
In the past few years even the worlds biggest energy producers have changed their tune and recognized that man's emisions are causing climate change.
even exxonmobil now publicly admits so, in their way...
From XOM:
"With increased global energy demand, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions are expected to rise by an average of 1 percent per year through the
year 2030. As was recently summarized in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the risks to society
and ecosystems from increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are significant. Meeting the enormous energy demand growth and managing the risk of GHG
emissions are the twin challenges of our time.
We all must engage in the search for solutions if we are to succeed at mitigating these risks."
More and more of the planets energy needs will be met by wind and solar over time as it becomes more economically "doable". The net costs for
wind/solar power production are dropping and fossil fuels are increasing.
Union Fenosa has pledged over 6 billion euros to developing alternative energy projects through 2011 and I applaud their efforts. They are a very
forward thinking company that in these hard economic times reported net profits up over 55% last year. I had the opportunity to meet a couple of their
engineers on a recent visit to Baja and they are betting on the long term energy forecast; not just short term profits.
They currently have several wind monitoring stations setup along the northern Baja Pacific coastline searching for ideal locations to build future
wind farms. I told them I hope they consider some solar cell farms as well.
They just recently concluded a study set at the base of one of the volcanoes behind our new place...
"I told them I hope they consider some solar cell farms as well... "
That said, it would seem to me that Mexico would be more amenable to building large solar projects in its desert regions than is the US. Just look at
all the crap going on regarding proposed projects in the Mojave.
Originally posted by David K
If there REALLY was 'Global Warming' then everyone who uses coal to heat their homes in winter, could stop!
If the world is getting warmer at times throughout the year, does that mean it's getting less cold at other times?
You experts probably know the answer but, I don't so, be gentle and forgiving with your answers.
Thank you very much.
Baja has the Potential, but all it lacks is the FUNDING. I've got a lot of potential that could be realized with
enough funding.
IF the Business had such great Profit POTENTIAL, funding could be found.
The FACT is that NO significant Solar or WIND projects have been built ANYWHERE without Government subsidies because they DON'T pay for themselves.
Much is made that they can show "Operational" profits AFTER installation, BUT those figures require discounting the Installation costs.
But, Baja is a Magical place so maybe it will Magically occur.
I would like to point out that the govt. has
also subsidized hydro and nuclear power. The government subsidized all the dams on the Columbia river which provide seemingly cheap power if you don't
factor in the cost of ruining the richest salmon fishery on earth. Nuke plants seem competitive only because the future costs of dealing with the
byproducts and the decommissioning of them is unknown, and will most likely fall on the taxpayer. There are trade offs no matter how you generate
power.
If there REALLY was 'Global Warming' then everyone who uses coal to heat their homes in winter, could stop! You would have people freeze or lose their
jobs than burn coal?
Reality is winters are getting colder, coal is plentiful and cheap and in the USA, and we have been developing clean
coal technology the birds can live with!
I live on the Pacific, and we use natural gas to heat our homes... because it isn't getting any warmer here either!
plentiful
clean
This is why there is so much resistance to truly clean energy projects. Coal is NOT plentiful! It is a fossil fuel and when it's gone, it's gone!!!
There is no such thing as clean coal technology. "Clean coal" is about as big an oxymarooon as you can get. I'm glad that you think that this
so-called clean technology is something that the birds can live with. I'm sure that if they could speak your language that they would disagree. Any
refinement of coal = huge environmental impact. On the other side of the coin, wind turbines have a relatively small footprint, especially when
compared to the energy that they produce. Do you have any facts pertaining to massive bird injury from flying into turbines? How does that compare
with, say, aircraft, or any other human obstacle? I personally would rather look at this:
than a nasty coal refinement plant any day!!! But, that's just my crunchy two cents. I guess that's what happens when you get all your power from the
wind and sun.
If the world is getting warmer at times throughout the year, does that mean it's getting less cold at other times?
You experts probably know the answer but, I don't so, be gentle and forgiving with your answers.
Thank you very much.
Nobody really has an answer to your question, Dennis, but we all try.
Climatology as an exact science has a long way to go---------in the mean time we (scientists) are just mostly speculating, but the consequences of
"climate change" could obviously be disastrous, that's true, but I don't really think we (man) can do much about it, one way or the
other----------?!?!?!?!
---------but many think we should at least "try". If we can do that without destroying the economies of the world, than I am supportive.
"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen.
The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back
if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt
"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes
"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others
cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn
"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law
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