Coahuila power station

From Global Energy Monitor
Part of the
Global Coal Plant Tracker,
a Global Energy Monitor project.
Download full dataset
Report an error
Related coal trackers:

Coahuila power station (Central termoeléctrica Coahuila) is a shelved power station in Nava, Coahuila, Mexico.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Coahuila power station Nava, Nava, Coahuila, Mexico 28.456482, -100.728095 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.

Loading map...


Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 shelved coal - bituminous 700 supercritical
Unit 2 shelved coal - bituminous 700 supercritical

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE (CFE) [100.0%]
Unit 2 Comisión Federal de Electricidad EPE (CFE) [100.0%]

Background

In November 2018, Senator Armando Guadiana Tijerina, president of Mexico's Senate Energy Commission, announced plans for a new, two-unit, 1400 MW coal plant.[1][2] The plant would be located in the municipality of Nava, where the government already operates the coal-fired José Lopez Portillo and Carbón II power stations, or in the surrounding coal-producing state of Coahuila.[1]

According to the senator's announcement, permits for the two coal-fired units could easily be expedited, as plans for the plant have been in the works since 2012, and the new units would be much more efficient and less polluting than existing Mexican coal-fired plants. The projected budget for the new plant would be between US $840 million and US $1.12 billion.[1]

Subsequent news reports in 2020 confirmed that the proposal remained active, though details were sketchy.[3][4][5]

In November 2021, a top official of Mexico's federal electricity commission CFE indicated that Mexico has no plans to build new coal-fired power plants, implying that the 1400 MW Coahuila power station has been shelved.[6] However, proposals for a new coal plant in the region continue to be put forward periodically, most recently by Rogelio Montemayor Seguy, the former governor of Coahuila state, in September 2022.[7][8]

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.[5][9] 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.[3][10] In 2020, Mexico ramped up its purchases of coal while imposing new rules discouraging solar and wind projects[11], and the country remains far from complying with its clean energy commitments under the Paris Climate Accord.[5]

Coahuila's state government remains committed to the sustained use of coal for electricity generation, calling for coal use to remain "at least" at current levels through 2023[12], and the head of Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission has suggested that Coahuila's coal plants should continue operating permanently.[13] According to the Mexican Geological Survey, Coahuila state produces 99% of Mexico's coal[14], and the director of Mexico's National Coal Producers' Union estimates that the livelihood of tens of thousands of Coahuila state residents depends directly or indirectly on coal production.[15]

In mid-2023, it was reported that Coahuila had increased its coal-fired electricity generation in 2022 and reduced its renewable energy generation during the same time period.[16] While no further news of a new coal-fired plant in the region had been announced as of June 2023, CFE made it clear that their existing coal-fired plants would continue operation and renew their energy contracts in 2025.[16]

In a list of CFE's 2022-2023 investment projects and programs in Coahuila, no new coal-fired power projects were listed.[17]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Nueva planta carboeléctrica en Coahuila aprobada en 2012". Energía Hoy. November 26, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. "Mexico Ramps up Plans for Coal in the New Government's Development Strategy". Climate Scorecard. May 9, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. 3.0 3.1 "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)
  4. "México incumple acuerdos de París, advierten expertos". El Economista. December 28, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 "México está incumpliendo los compromisos ambientales ante el Acuerdo de París, según expertos". La República. December 28, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "CFE no construirá centrales de carbón para generar energía". La Jornada. November 12, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "Clúster de Energía propone nueva planta termoeléctrica". El Siglo de Torreón. September 25, 2022.
  8. "Los Montemayor Seguy ahora quieren una planta termoeléctrica". Revista de Coahuila. October 9, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "PPCA Members | Powering Past Coal Alliance". Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA). Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  10. "Alternative energy efforts in Mexico slow as Lopez Obrador prioritizes oil". Los Angeles Times. 2019-07-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. "El gobierno de México comprará toneladas de carbón para termoeléctricas". infobae. July 17, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "Programa Especial de Energía 2017-2023 (p 36)" (PDF). Gobierno del Estado de Coahuila. September 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. "CFE buscará que carboeléctricas trabajen permanentemente: Manuel Bartlett". Energía Hoy. 2019-08-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. "Panorama Minero del Estado de Coahuila (p 11)" (PDF). Servicio Geológico Mexicano. December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. "Centrales eléctricas de Coahuila y el lado oscuro de la fiesta del carbón". El Economista. June 20, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. 16.0 16.1 "CFE genera más electricidad con carbón y menos con energías limpias". MX Investing. June 6, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. "Recursos Identificados en el Presupuesto de Egresos de la Federación 2023" (PDF). Palacio Legislativo de San Lázaro, Ciudad de México. Feb. 16, 2023. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); line feed character in |title= at position 41 (help)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.