Mexico to invest 6.6 bln USD in clean energy

Mexican and foreign companies are expected to invest 6.6 billion U.S. dollars over the next two years to boost renewable energy sources around the country, according to Energy Minister Pedro Joaquin Coldwell.

By building 52 new "green energy" plants, including wind and solar, Mexico will increase its output of renewable energy by nearly 5,000 megawatts, a 170-percent increase over the past 18 years, Coldwell said at a ceremony, at which he presented the contracts to the winners of two energy auctions.

"You comprise a sizable group of pioneer investors, which shows the confidence that more than 10 countries around the world are placing in Mexico's energy industry," Coldwell said at the ceremony.

A third auction is to be held in April, he said.

The projects, expected to be completed by 2019, are planned for 15 of Mexico's 31 states.

Now nearly 2 million people living in remote rural parts of Mexico still have no access to electricity, Coldwell acknowledged, adding that building "a conventional transmission network in these types of regions is not very economically feasible." Enditem