Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo Montaño recently reaffirmed plans of the federal government to invest nearly 1.7 billion dollars to build an immense solar plant near Puerto Peñasco. Once completed, this would become the largest solar plant in Latin America and 8th in the world.
Durazo detailed the massive photovoltaic center, meant to eventually benefit 4 million people across Sonora and Baja California, will span an area of 2000 hectares southeast of Puerto Peñasco. The land where the solar plant is to be built belongs to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and is located 27 kilometers from Puerto Peñasco, along the Puerto Peñasco-Caborca highway.
The Sonora solar plant near Puerto Peñasco is planned to be operational by December 2023, with an estimated 36 months of preparation among stages of preparing the site and construction. The solar plant will have an estimated lifespan of 30 years.
Puerto Peñasco mayor Jorge Pivac Carrillo added, “Puerto Peñasco is to receive 126 MW from the solar plant. Electricity from the plant will connect with Puerto Peñasco’s substation located along Blvd. Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez.”
Durazo Montaño first announced Sonora’s ambitious solar project shortly after becoming governor-elect in July 2021. Along with support of the federal government and Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the project is to built through international bidding and via complete transparency. According to initial announcements, the State of Sonora will have a 46% stake in the photovoltaic project, and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) 54%.
