Letters
A Letter on Photovoltaics and Lighting in Mexico
I was happy to see that the latest IAEEL Newsletter dealt with PVs and their use for lighting in unelectrified households. Indeed this could become the market that brings PVs to everyone else!I was surprised, however, that there was no mention of the efforts in Mexico, particularly since about 1993 or so, to electrify the remaining 7 million or so inhabitants in about 90 000 villages, hamlets and small towns, using PV systems - most were village sized with some sort of backup (usually diesel). Some were also wind powered.
The idea was to use hybrid systems that would rely primarily on solar or wind and would have some fossil-fueled backup. This initative was administered by Pronasol - the national solidarity program of the government that ran many public works projects using local input (labor, materials, and, sometimes I believe, co-funding). I don't know where this program stands today. If I am not mistaken, I believe there were some 2000 systems in operation by the end of the Salinas presidency in 1994.
Rafael Friedman
International Energy Studies Group
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
Reply: We will continue to cover developments in the area of PV-based lighting systems, and we certainly will give the Mexican efforts the full attention they deserve.