TPP Coal Terminal
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The TPP Coal Terminal is a mothballed coal import terminal at the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán, Mexico.
Location
Background
In December 2016, Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) signed a contract with Terminales Portuarias del Pacífico (TPP), agreeing to import 1.3 million tonnes of thermal coal annually via TPP's Lázaro Cárdenas bulk minerals terminal to fuel electricity generation at the Presidente Plutarco Elías Calles (Petacalco) power station.[1] The new contract was apparently intended to fill the gap between the 7 million tonnes of coal required annually by the Petacalco power plant[2] and the 6 Mtpa capacity of the Carbonser coal terminal that had been supplying the plant since 1999.[3]
On May 3, 2019, an initial shipment of 71,500 tonnes of Colombian coal was delivered to the TPP terminal.[4][5] On November 26, 2019, a newly constructed conveyor belt system began transporting coal from the TPP terminal directly to the Petacalco power plant.[6] By the end of 2019, coal imports via the TPP terminal totaled 1.1 million tonnes.[7]
In 2020, however, the CFE decided to discontinue its use of the TPP terminal, citing the "extremely expensive" cost of the coal.[8] The TPP terminal received no new coal shipments in 2020, and its only coal-related activity was the transfer of 347,000 tonnes of residual 2019 coal inventory to the Petacalco power station.[9]
The terms of the original agreement obliged CFE to pay for the receipt, storage and transport of 1.3 million tonnes of coal a year, regardless of whether any coal was processed by the terminal.[1] In May 2023, an arbitration panel ordered CFE to pay for all of its contractual obligations for the 2019-2023 period and to honor the contract until its expiration in 2033.[1] When CFE refused to pay, the claimants sued on August 23, 2024 in the Southern District of New York to enforce the award against CFE assets in the United States.[8]
The TPP terminal did not handle any coal shipments for CFE in 2024[10] or 2025[11], and as of September 2026 the TPP terminal's role as a coal import facility appeared to be indefinitely mothballed.
Project Details
- Operator: Terminales Portuarias del Pacífico (TPP)[4]
- Location: Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, Mexico[6]
- Annual Capacity (Tonnes): 1.3 million tonnes per annum (contracted amount)[1][6]
- Status: Mothballed[11]
- Start Year: 2019[4][6]
- Mothballed Year: 2020[9]
- Type: Imports[7]
- Coal source: Colombia[4]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Black Rock demanda a la CFE en Nueva York por incumplimiento de contrato". Energía a pulso. 2024-09-04. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "CFE adquiere carbón para Petacalco; elevará la producción". Energía A Debate. 2019-07-30. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Infraestructura - Energía y Puertos: Terminal de recibo y manejo de carbón en Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán (Carbonser)". GMD (Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo). Retrieved 2026-09-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Operan carbón por terminal de minerales a granel". El Sol de Morelia. 2019-05-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "CFE inicia importación de carbón por puerto Lázaro Cárdenas". energy21.com.mx. May 6, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Cuenta Pública 2019" (PDF). Administración Portuaria Integral de Lázaro Cárdenas, S.A. de C.V. 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Reporte Anual 2019 (p 12)" (PDF). Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo. 2020-04-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Black Rock demanda a CFE en NY". Oil & Gas Magazine. 2024-09-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Reporte Anual 2020 (p 12)" (PDF). Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo. 2021-04-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Reporte Anual 2024 (p 13)" (PDF). Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo. 2025-04-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Reporte Anual 2025 (p 12)" (PDF). Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo. 2026-04-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
