The Solar Heat Forum in Mexico City gathered 118 stakeholders interested in SHIP
The Solar Heat Forum (Foro de Calor Solar) organized by the project Solar Payback in cooperation with the Mexican Iniciativa Calor Solar, which groups the most relevant market players in Mexico such as the National Solar Association (ANES), the National Commission for Energy Efficiency (CONUEE), and the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ) took place on November 15, at the Palacio de Minería in Mexico City. The forum gathered representatives from the industry, academy, government and the solar thermal market. It was part of events organised during the 42. National Week of Solar Energy of ANES.
The main focus of the Solar Heat Forum was the SHIP market in Mexico, which is the country with the largest number of installed SHIP plants in 2017, as the latest survey from solrico shows. Speakers from Germany and Mexico presented the state of the art and local experts discussed current trends in different panel sessions.
Hermilio Ortega, a consultant from the GIZ in Mexico, presented the results from the market study published by the GIZ in the framework of the DKTI Solar – the Large-Scale Solar Energy Programme about the solar thermal market in Mexico and, particularly, the SHIP market.
Jan Knaack from BSW-Solar made a detailed presentation on behalf of the Fraunhofer Institute about SHIP technologies and their application in different market segments. Marisol Oropeza, a representative from solrico, presented the preliminary results of the study about the potential for SHIP in four selected industries in Mexico: chemical, food and beverage, pulp and paper, and mining.
Panel discussion with Pablo Cuevas from PNUD (left), Ángel Mejía from Inventive Power, Katia Bernal from Citrus, and Daniel García from Módulo Solar.
During the first panel, representatives from three SHIP suppliers shared success stories in different industrial sectors and with varying SHIP technologies, such as flat plate and parabolic-troughs: Daniel García from Módulo Solar, Katia Bernal from Citrus, and Ángel Mejía from Inventive Power.
In the afternoon session, the panelists also discussed about innovation, business models and marketing for SHIP. They mentioned competitiveness for the Mexican industry, energy security, and energy independence as the key messages to trigger investments, besides a paradigm change in communication and education about energy consumption, and the creation of new companies that offer SHIP solutions. Daniel García also announced the launch of a new initiative called “Frente Renovable” to promote renewables and counteract the lobby of the natural gas industry, which is the main competitor for SHIP technologies.
In the afternoon session, Marisol Oropeza presented the results from the policy workshop of Solar Payback which took place in Mexico City last May, when the market study about SHIP in Mexico Calor Solar para la Industria (available in Spanish only) was presented. These results were complemented with a presentation from Valdés, former ANES president, who mentioned that communication has already been established with the transition team of the upcoming government, which start duty on December 1st. A panel discussion with representatives from the residential, commercial and public sector followed.
Angélica Quiñones, who took over as new President of ANES on November 16, Hermilio Ortega from GIZ, Kira Potowski from CAMEXA, and Jan Knaack from BSW-Solar discussed on a second panel about the future of solar heat in Mexico.
Besides the SHIP market, the event was also a forum for other solar heat applications. Among the panelist where Francisco Ceballos from INFONAVIT, Oscar Vazquez from the Environment Secretary of Mexico City, and Pablo Cuevas coordinator of the MiSol project, who exchanged views about the development of the Hipoteca Verde programme for the residential sector, the MiSol project for hotels in South Mexico, and the PACCM programme for the public hospitals in Mexico City. One highlight is the proposal for a solar obligation in buildings in Mexico City which was recently published.
All presentations will be available online at the website of the Iniciativa Calor Solar: http://calorsolar.mx/evento-foro-calor-solar-mexico-15-nov-18/
