As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of “Proveedora del Panadero“, copany that owns the stores known as Dunosusa, the firm launched its first solar farm on Tuesday July 23rd, 2019, in the municipality of Kanasín, Yucatán.
This work was carried out with an investment of 750,000 dollars (14.3 million pesos, at the current exchange rate), which confirms the firm as an environmentally responsible company.
The ceremony was attended by Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal; the mayor of Kanasín, William Pérez Cabrera, local representatives and other state officials.
Juan Morales Sansores, general director of Dunosusa, said that this company has developed the program “Primero el Planeta” (The Planet First), which works along six lines of action, which are:
- Waste recycling
- Solar energy
- Wastewater treatment,
- Eliination of plastic bags
- Awareness, culture and environmental education
- Reforestation
During the opening ceremony of this farm on Calle 9 #232 (between Periférico East and Kanasín’s Calle 36), the governor stressed that it is a pride that a Yucatecan company cares and works for the planet, with concrete actions that must be recognized.
Vila Dosal personally pressed the button that put the system into operation, first of its kind from the local firm, consisting of 1,442 solar panels.
This facility has the capacity to generate 950,000 kilowatt-hours per year, which means to stop emitting 500 tons of carbon dioxide annually, which would be equivalent to planting 12,638 trees to mitigate the harmful greenhouse effects.
In his message, the president stated that the state government is working together with the private initiative and the Federation in promoting clean energy generation. Therefore, he reiterated that his administration approves these types of projects and will keep on supporting them.
Regarding renewable energy, Vila Dosal said that Yucatan is advancing at a good pace, which is demonstrated by the wind farms in Tizimín and Dzilam de Bravo, as well as the two photovoltaic plants in Peto and Progreso. With which, the state adds an installed capacity of 210 megawatts (MW), which is enough to satisfy the power consumption of more than 450,000 homes.
In addition, he added that this is complemented by the 32 MW produced by other smaller energy sources, such as houses and offices that use solar panels.
“The state of Yucatán already has another 24 permits for clean energy projects. If all were completed, together they would generate 340 MW, which represents an investment of 4.5 billion US dollars”, the governor added.
Vila Dosal recalled that, as a result of the efforts made with the Federation, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) the construction of the new Mérida 4 electric power generation plant was announced in previous days, which will help ensure a better electricity supply for the whole state.
“The concern we all have is the supply of electricity for the whole Yucatan Peninsula, and we have good news on this regard, because we have worked closely with the CFE; with its director, Manuel Bartlett Díaz, and the representative in the Peninsula, Humberto Saldaña Rodríguez, and with this plant the supply of electricity for Yucatan will be guaranteed for the next 15 years, ”said the governor.
With an investment of two billion pesos, this will be a combined cycle power plant, which means it can run on natural gas and diesel, and will have an installed capacity of 300 MW by 2021; 500 MW by 2023; and 1,000 MW by 2026.
Regarding the reduction of electricity rates, Vila Dosal pointed out that in Yucatan the issue is focused on the lack of natural gas for electricity generation plants to be producing energy, which impacts the cost of it because diesel is used for production, which makes prices higher than in other parts of the country.
“That is why we are working very hard from the State government, in coordination with federal authorities such as Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), CFE and the National Center for Natural Gas Control (Cenagas), to achieve the supply of natural gas, in order to lower the cost of electricity, ” concluded the governor.
For his part, the CEO of Dunosusa mentioned that since 2015 and until today, this company has invested more than nine million US dollars (172.5 million pesos) in renewable energy, including the installation of solar panels in its stores.
The Yucatan Times Newsroom
