MEXICO IN SIGHT OF 2030?

4ºD

MEMBERS: TEACHER:
Mayra Vázquez LIC. LOURDES ROBLES-VELÁZQUES

Erick Calvario
Karla Salinas
Yair Juárez
In order to tackle global problems, such as global warming, climate change or other
political or economic issue, in 2012 the sustainable development goals were established.
Then, in 2015 the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development began to
work.
Among these 17 goals, the most interesting topic for me is number 7, Renewable
Energy, which has the purpose of ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and
modern energy for all people and countries. But to achieve all these goals, it is
necessary the support of all the countries, citizens and industries. Despite of this world-
wide effort, is it true that Mexico is really planning to achieve these goals by 2030, or at
least trying to?
Currently, more than three quarters of the energy production, in the world comes from
non- renewable resources, such as coal or oil. Oil is a liquid fossil fuel that is trapped by
underground formations. Most of the world's oil is still deep underground, but as we drill
more and more, we must go deeper and deeper every time. Once the oil has been
drilled, it must be refined, because oil is a complex mixture that must be separated into
its different components. About half of the world’s oil is converted into gasoline. The rest
can be processed and used in liquid or solid products, such as bags and shoes.
The drilling process is relatively inexpensive and a reliable energy source. However, a
drawback of this process is the possibility of an oil spill, for example if there is a problem
with the drilling machinery, the oil can explode out of the well and spill into the ocean or
surrounding land. Moreover, these non-renewable resources will run out or will not be
replenished for thousands or even millions of years. Most of these resources are burned
to produce electricity, which produces a huge amount[f3] of carbon dioxide and other
hazardous gases and fumes, which are released into the atmosphere, contributing to
global warming.
“Burning fossil fuels also upsets Earth’s “carbon budget,” which balances the carbon in
the ocean, earth, and air. When fossil fuels are combusted (heated), they release
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a gas that keeps heat in Earth’s
atmosphere, a process called the “greenhouse effect.” The greenhouse effect is
necessary to life on Earth but relies on a balanced carbon budget.” (Morse,2013)
On the other hand, renewable energy comes from renewable resources, which are
inexhaustible natural resources and does not pollute the environment. Our electrical
needs can be supplied by different sources of renewable energy; such as, the
movement of wind and water, the heat and light of the sun, the warmth inside the earth,
the production of Hydrogen and Methane and, lastly, by the carbohydrates which are
main components of plants. Allowing us to live in a sustainable way.
It is important to point out that these methods also possess both advantages and
drawbacks. According to the research done by Rodriguez (2018), Mexico is in a critical
situation to decide whether or not to invest in renewable energies, because this type of
energy has become very important worldwide and it has diversified the electrical sources
of energy without harming the environment. Just in 2017, México produced 4000 MW
with wind turbines only. This amount was roughly 5% of the total amount of energy
consumption in 2017. Mexico wants to triplicate this production during the next 5 years
and by 2024, Mexico expects to produce 35% of all energy with renewable resources.

There are many kinds of renewable energy, for the purpose of this essay, the focus will
be on 7 main types of clean energy.
 Bioenergy, it uses biomass, which is any organic matter from animals or plants, to
produce energy, or liquid fuels, such as ethanol or biodiesel. There are plenty of
systems used to produce this kind of energy, ranging from burning biomass to
capturing and using methane gas produced by the natural decomposition of
organic matter.,. A process similar to the one that occurs in a cow's digestive
system.

 Geothermal energy. It is created with the heat coming from inside the earth. This
heat is found in rock and in reservoirs of hot water inside the surface of the planet.
The heat is used by Geothermal power plants to generate electricity.

 Hydroelectric energy. It is generated by a dike system to store water in a reservoir.

When the water is released, it flows through the tubes and moves the turbines.
This movement of the turbines produces electricity. So, basically, water is cycled
between lower and higher reservoirs to control the electricity generation.

 Hydrogen´s energy, which is found in organic compounds, just like water or natural
gas, and it can also be produced under certain conditions. Hydrogen produces a
huge amount of heat, almost 285.53 KJ/Mol, when burned. In fact, it is almost five
times greater than oil, which produces 43.7 KJ/mol. In 2016, I researched more
about this kind of energy, and I made a project that tried to convert human urine
into Hydrogen. That's why this kind of electric generation system has a great
potential to keep working on it.

 Solar energy is produced when we capture the sun's energy directly. This type of
technology is based on Einstein's photoelectric effect, which consists in the
release of electrically charged particles, that are in a material when it absorbs
electromagnetic radiation. In this case, any solar cell receives electromagnetic
radiation from the sun, producing energy when the electrons or ions are ejected
from the solar cell due to the previously mentioned effect. Another way to take
advantage of the sunlight, is to concentrate the heat using mirror-covered dishes
that are focused to boil water.

 Wind´s kinetic energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating and cooling of the
atmosphere, and it is used to move giant propellers, and it is also compressed and
expanded inside the wind turbine to create a variation in Entropy between the wind
entering and the one exiting. With these processes of expansion and compression,
the generator produces a huge amount of energy due to the change of entropy
and the speed of the wind, as well.
In 2017, China was the leading country of renewable energy production, with a total
capacity of around 618.8 GW, followed by the USA (229.91 GW) and Brazil (128.89 GW)
contrasting with Mexico which had 70 000 MW produced (Irena,2018). According to “El
Universal Mexico”, Mexico is expecting to meet 35% of the total energy consumption
demand with clean energy by 2024.
This energy will be produced mainly by wind and solar power, with a total investment of
8.6 million Dollars.
Mexico approved an energy reform in 2012, which has transformed the power sector
since then by supporting the renewable energy in Mexico, at first glance.
But if we analyze carefully, only 17 out of 32 states in Mexico will have a renewable
energy power plant but from these only 4 out of 17 states will have support from the
Mexican Government, workers and technology to build these plants, which will only
produce 2.4k MW, nearly 12% of the energy consumption in the country.
Mexico has become a leading destination for clean energy investment. The second
largest power market in Latin America, just behind Brazil. The total investment is
expected to increase because of the country’s excellent solar and wind resources. Clean
power investments increased dramatically from $1.441 billion in 2016 to $6.2 billion in
2017. From this total investment, 90% represents the foreign investment, something
disturbing because Mexico is selling its land to foreigners, even though it has the
knowledge, the capability and tools to develop its own technology to produce clean
energy without the intervention of other countries.
Mexico is facing an important presidential transition since December 1st 2018, as the
elected president is going to reactivate the use of coal for electricity generation, due to
the expensive electric rates. Honestly, this is a huge setback to the renewable energy
industry even though solar and wind energy have been cheaper since last year. The
cost per Megawatt-Hour of energy is 20 dollars, so its illogical to invest in non-renewable
energy when Mexico can use that money to build more renewable energy power plants
in the country. Furthermore, if Mexico decides to start using coal again, Mexico will have
to import it from Australia as a result of the lack in this resource.
As Olea (2018) says, it is amazing how in the 21 centuries, Mexico will invest for non-
renewable as the solution to its electric problems rather than renewable energy which
have been a real solution during the last decade, and it will continue to be so for the
years to come. In addition, Mexico has a law (Ley General de Cambio Climatico) that
establishes a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases emissions by a 30% by 2020,
and 50% by 2050.Unfortunately, this goal seems to be non-achievable than ever with
this new Coal-Industry reactivation.
As Mahatma Ghandi once said: “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs,
but not every man’s greed.” Mexico has to start developing new technology to take
advantage of all the renewable resources Earth gave us to produce clean energy,
without harming it. If we want to achieve our energetic production goal by 2024, we must
stop looking for the “economic” ways to obtain energy from non-renewable resources
but more investing in sustainable and economic, environmental and social way than
invest in long term with renewable energy.
Mexico needs to start focusing in the sustainable development goals, if we pretend to
have a real development for 2030, but to achieve this, it is necessary the support and
actions of all the citizens, because together we are the strength that the world needs to
be saved.
Lastly, Mexico is in the perfect moment to start researching new ways to produce clean
energy if we want to start the next decade as the flagship of renewable energy.
Because, if we forget about future generations now, they will not ever forget us.
Referencias
 7 types of renewable energy to support comercial sustainability.
(2017,January 3.). Recuperado de: businessfeed.sunpower.com/lists/7-
types-of-renewable-commercial- energy el 11/05/19
 García, K. (2018, noviembre 22). AMLO reactivará uso de carbón para
generación eléctrica. Recuperado de:
https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/empresas/AMLO- reactivara-uso-de-
carbon-para-generacion-electrica-20181122-0194.html el 11/05/19
 Irena. (2018, marzo.). Las 14 Ventajas y Desventajas de la Globalización
Principales.
Recuperado de: https://www.lifeder.com/ventajas-desventajas-
globalizacion/ el 01/05/19
 García, M. (N.D.). Leading Countries in installed renewable energy
capacity worldwide in 2017. Recuperado de:
https://statisca.com/statics/267233/renewable-energy-capacity- worldwide-
by-country el 11/05/19
 Olive, L. (2018, abril 16). México y su gran potencial en energías limpias.
Recuperado de: https://www.forbes.com.mx/mexico-y-su-gran-potencial-
en-energias-limpias/ el 12/05/19
 Renewable Energy. (N.D.). Recuperado de:
https://www.globalgiving.org/sdg/renewable- energy/ el 12/05/19
 Objetivos de desarrollo sostenible. (N.D.). Recuperado de:
https://www.undp.org/content/undp/es/home/sustainable-development-
goals.html el 12/05/19