Carbón II power station
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Carbón II power station (Central termoeléctrica Carbón II) is an operating power station of at least 1400-megawatts (MW) in Nava, Coahuila, Mexico.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Carbón II power station | Nava, Nava, Coahuila, Mexico | 28.468066, -100.697606 (exact) |
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4: 28.468066, -100.697606
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Emergency/Backup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Operating | coal: bituminous, fossil liquids: diesel[1] | 350 | subcritical | 1993 | False |
| Unit 2 | Operating | coal: bituminous[1] | 350 | subcritical | 1993 | False |
| Unit 3 | Operating | coal: bituminous[1] | 350 | subcritical | 1995 | False |
| Unit 4 | Operating | coal: bituminous[1] | 350 | subcritical | 1996 | False |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100%] | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100%] | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100%] | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100%] | Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE [100.0%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): domestic
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
Operated by CFE (Mexico's federal electricity commission) since 1993, the Carbón II plant is one of Latin America's largest coal-fired power stations.[2][3] The plant's four generating units have a capacity of 350 MW each, for a total capacity of 1400 MW.[2][4]
Coal for the plant is sourced from the Micare Coal Mine.[5][6][7]
Proposed shutdown & the politics of decarbonization
The Mexican government's 15-year energy development plan for 2018-2032 called for all four units of the Carbón II power plant to be taken offline in 2029, removing 1400 MW of coal-fired electricity from the national energy mix and making Carbón II the only coal-fired power plant in the country with a specific proposed shutdown date.[8][9]
Since 2017, Mexico has been a member of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a group of nations that have pledged to phase out existing coal plants.[10][11] However, the country's stated commitment to decarbonization has been directly contradicted by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's calls for increased investment in coal and other fossil fuels since taking office in December 2018.[12][13] In 2020, Mexico ramped up its purchases of coal while imposing new rules discouraging solar and wind projects[14], and the country remains far from complying with its clean energy commitments under the Paris Climate Accord.[10]
The Mexican government acquired 1.5 million tons of coal from small- and medium-sized producers in Coahuila state in 2020-21, and in February 2022 CFE (Mexico's federal electricity commission) announced that it would again make large purchases of domestic coal, sufficient to supply 4% of the country's electricity generation.[15] In June 2022, CFE launched 50 tenders aimed at acquiring 2.27 million tons of coal from Nuevo León and Coahuila states to fuel the José López Portillo and Carbón II power plants.[16]
Coahuila's state government remains committed to the sustained use of domestic coal for electricity generation, calling for coal use to remain "at least" at current levels through 2023[17], and the head of Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission has suggested that Coahuila's coal plants should continue operating permanently.[18] According to the Mexican Geological Survey, Coahuila state produces 99% of Mexico's coal[19], and the director of Mexico's National Coal Producers' Union estimated that the livelihood of tens of thousands of Coahuila state residents depends directly or indirectly on coal production.[3]
Mexico's 2023-2037 National Electricity System development plan did not mention the retirement of the Carbón II power station, although it noted that an estimated 4,317 MW of installed generating capacity would be retired, substituted, or converted by 2037.[20] By the end of 2024, it was unclear if CFE remained committed to retiring Carbón II in 2029. Since the original 2018 PRODESEN document's announcement of the planned retirement, external sources had more recently indicated that the power station could potentially continue to operate through 2033.[21][22]
As of late 2025, CFE continued to purchase substantial amounts of coal to supply the Carbón II station[23], and there was no sign of any decommissioning plan for the plant. Mexico’s December 2025 Electrical Sector Development Plan called for the eventual phase-out of coal plants in very vague terms, affirming only that the participation of thermoelectric plants (including coal plants) in Mexico's electricity matrix would be “minimized” by 2039, with “accelerated” decarbonization starting in 2030.[24] The Mexican electricity commission's 2025-2030 expansion plan indicated that the Carbón II plant would get a 376 MW photovoltaic expansion, but made no mention of the retirement of coal generation.[25]
Coal supply contracts under scrutiny for conflicts of interest
From 2022 to 2023, the CFE came under federal and public scrutiny following the award of coal supply contracts for Carbón II and the José López Portillo power station in 2022. CFE had awarded two coal supply contracts of 571 million pesos each to a company with familial ties to the Morenista mayor's office and the Labor Party.[26] When investigated by Mexico's Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF), CFE denied any conflict of interest.[26]
In March 2024, the CFE announced the winners of coal contract contests for the fiscal years 2024 and 2025, granting 62% of the contracts' value to companies linked to local politicians.[27] The coal supply contracts, which would provide coal to the Carbón II power station and the José López Portillo power station, reportedly represented the largest coal sales in the current six-year term.
In October 2025, CFE announced the award of a tender, covering the purchase of approximately 7.99 million tonnes of thermal coal for the Carbón II and José López Portillo power stations at a total contract value of MXN 12,239 million (approximately US$600 million). CFE stated the process was conducted through open public competitive bidding with electronic evaluation. A deputy of the Labour Party (PT) in Coahuila requested suspension of the award, alleging that the tender benefited shell companies lacking the infrastructure to supply coal.[28][29]
In April 2026, coal producers in the Región Carbonífera of Coahuila began receiving notifications of formalised coal supply contracts with CFE covering the period 2026-2030, guaranteeing coal deliveries to the Carbón II and José López Portillo power stations through the end of the decade.[30]
Health & environmental impacts
The Carbón II power complex is one of Mexico's worst polluters. The plant ranks second in the country in annual emissions of nitric oxides (49,915 tons), third in carbon dioxide (over 9 million tons), third in nitrous oxide (205 tons), third in methane (136.75 tons), and sixth in sulfur dioxide emissions (over 100,000 tons annually).[3]
A June 2020 article in El Economista notes that air pollution from the coal plants of Coahuila state is a known contributor to lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and acute respiratory illness, with the latter being the state's number one health problem, according to government figures. The Carbón II complex, together with the neighboring José López Portillo power station and the Petacalco power station in Guerrero state, accounts for 22% of the GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from Mexico's electricity sector while contributing only 10% of national electricity production.[3]
In May 2023, it was reported that the two coal-fired power stations in Nava, Carbón II and José López Portillo, were together responsible for more than half of all Mexico's coal combustion emissions.[31]
Incidents
On June 6, 2025, the Carbón II power station ceased operation entirely after the failure of its only active generating unit. By that date, the plant's other three units had reportedly been experiencing operational failures for several months, leaving Unit 1 as the sole operational unit before it too failed, taking the plant completely offline. According to internal sources cited by El Financiero, the incident was caused by the forced use of diesel fuel and fuel oil in boilers designed for coal combustion – a practice that had previously been flagged in internal technical reports. Reporting indicated that the plant had been purchasing between two and 2.5 million litres of diesel per week, allegedly at prices up to seven pesos per litre above market rate. The Ministry of Energy (SENER) confirmed it was investigating the incident, and the matter reached the office of Energy Secretary. The Auditoría Superior de la Federación (ASF) separately reported that between 2020 and 2023, millions of tonnes of coal had been introduced into the plant without technical traceability. The substitution of coal with liquid fuels had also displaced more than 70 local coal miners from supply contracts, after local coal was rejected on grounds of "poor quality."[32][33]
As of December 2025, the plant was receiving coal deliveries and continuing to operate, with CFE and regional coal producers coordinating to address delays in coal supply to the station. The number of generating units in active operation following the June 2025 outage could not be confirmed from available sources.[34]
Solar project
In January 2026, pv magazine México reported that CFE had submitted the Carbón II photovoltaic project for environmental review. The project was planned inside the Carbón II thermal power plant site in Nava, Coahuila, with 400 MW AC of installed capacity, estimated annual generation of 700 GWh, 761,964 crystalline-silicon photovoltaic modules, a 692-metre transmission line, expansion of the Carbón II electrical substation, and a total occupied area of 576.65 hectares.[35]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://www.gem.wiki/Coal_source_methodology_for_the_Global_Coal_Plant_Tracker.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Carbon II Coal Power Station Mexico - GEO". Global Energy Observatory. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Badillo, Diego (June 20, 2020). "Centrales eléctricas de Coahuila y el lado oscuro de la fiesta del carbón". El Economista.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Proposicion con Punto de Acuerdo: contratos de provisión de carbón mineral" (PDF). Santana Armando Guadiana Tijerina, Senador de la República. November 14, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "MICARE". AHMSA. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Orellana, A.; Stephenson, H. G. (1996-12-31). "Operational improvements in MICARE`s underground mines".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ↑ "MANIFESTACIÓN DE IMPACTO AMBIENTAL: MINERA CARBONÍFERA RIO ESCONDIDO, S.A. DE C.V. - EXPLOTACION DE MINA VI" (PDF). SEMARNAT. May 2006.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "PRODESEN: Programa de Desarrollo del Sistema Eléctrico Nacional 2018-2032 (pp 81, 245)" (PDF). SENER (Secretaría de Energía de México). 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Prospectiva del Sector Eléctrico 2018-2032 (p 71)" (PDF). SENER (Secretaría de Energía de México). 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 10.0 10.1 "México está incumpliendo los compromisos ambientales ante el Acuerdo de París, según expertos". La República. December 28, 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "PPCA Members | Powering Past Coal Alliance". Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA). Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ↑ "Energías limpias, sofisma que usó la política neoliberal para beneficiar a particulares: AMLO". Animal Político. October 24, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Alternative energy efforts in Mexico slow as Lopez Obrador prioritizes oil". Los Angeles Times. 2019-07-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "El gobierno de México comprará toneladas de carbón para termoeléctricas". infobae. July 17, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "CFE to Open Tender for Coal Mining Companies". Mexico Business News. February 15, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "México lanza licitaciones para compra de carbón". Rumbo Minero. June 27, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Programa Especial de Energía 2017-2023 (p 36)" (PDF). Gobierno del Estado de Coahuila. September 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "CFE buscará que carboeléctricas trabajen permanentemente: Manuel Bartlett". Energía Hoy. 2019-08-05.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Panorama Minero del Estado de Coahuila (p 11)" (PDF). Servicio Geológico Mexicano. December 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Programa de Desarrollo del Sistema Eléctrico Nacional (PRODESEN), Secretaría de Energia (Mexico), May 2023
- ↑ Perspectives from the coal industry in Mexico, WWF Mexico, October 2021
- ↑ REALIDADES DE LA TRANSICIÓN ENERGÉTICA EN AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2024
- ↑ "CFE compra 7.99 Mt de carbón por $12,239 millones: así se asegura el abasto para Carbón II y JLP en Coahuila". Industry & Energy Magazine. 2025-10-14. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Plan de Desarrollo del Sector Eléctrico - Capítulo 3: Escenario de planeación 2025-2039 (p 105)" (PDF). Secretaría de Energía. 2025-12-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Plan de Expansión CFE 2025-2030: Proyectos Prioritarios Generación y Transmisión (p 5)" (PDF). CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad). 2025-12-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 26.0 26.1 LA CFE COMPRA CARBÓN POR MÁS DE MIL MILLONES A EMPRESAS VINCULADAS A ALCALDESA DE MORENA Y DIPUTADO DEL PT, Eme Equis, August 28, 2023
- ↑ Empresas de políticos coahuilenses ganan contratos carboneros millonarios, El Coahuilense, March 21, 2024
- ↑ "CFE finaliza plazo de contratación de carbón mineral para centrales termoeléctricas de Coahuila". Infobae. October 13, 2025. Retrieved May 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Piden suspender fallo de CFE para compra de carbón; beneficia a empresas fantasma: diputado del PT". Proceso. October 8, 2025. Retrieved May 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Aseguran los carboneros contratos con CFE al 2030". La Prensa de Coahuila. April 8, 2026. Retrieved May 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Lidera Coahuila en contaminación por carboeléctricas; se ponen en peligro miles de vidas". Vanguardia MX. May 14, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "¿Qué pasó en la termoeléctrica Carbón II de la CFE en Coahuila? Hasta Luz Elena González investiga". El Financiero. September 5, 2025. Retrieved May 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Colapso en Carbón II de Nava destapa corrupción y sobrecostos en CFE". Vanguardia. September 3, 2025. Retrieved May 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Productores de carbón y CFE buscan frenar retrasos críticos". El Tiempo Carbonífera. December 7, 2025. Retrieved May 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Ini, Luis (January 28, 2026). "CFE ingresa a Semarnat el proyecto fotovoltaico Carbón II, de 400 MW, en Coahuila". pv magazine México. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
