Mexico and its epic (and sometimes comical) race towards renewable energies
It seems that Mexico, in a burst of collective lucidity, has decided that it does have the infrastructure and knowledge to promote renewable energy projects. The funniest thing? The magic recipe for this miracle is not a presidential decree or an extraterrestrial discovery, but something that sounds like therapist advice: bonding. Yes, that thing that everyone promotes in PowerPoints but that in practice usually looks more like a dialogue of the deaf. Miguel Robles Pérez, the director of the Institute of Renewable Energy (IER) of UNAM, dared to affirm that bringing together the government, industry and academia is the key. An idea so revolutionary that, who knew, it could even work.
During his brilliant intervention at the Latin America C&I Greenovation Summit 2025 in Cancun (because what better place to talk about sustainability than a massive tourist destination, right?), Robles Pérez dropped the pearl that the objective of his institute is to generate specific knowledge. Wow, quite a revelation. They are not satisfied with generic knowledge or pretty ideas to fill out reports; They want good knowledge, which accelerates the energy transition. “We want to insert ourselves into the knowledge for the transition,” he declared. A phrase that, without a doubt, will remain for posterity and that makes us ask ourselves: and what else would one insert oneself into if not knowledge? In ignorance?
Unstoppable growth: A miracle or simply the world realizing the obvious?
The good Mr. Robles assured with an optimism that borders on the mystical that the adoption of clean energy in Mexico shows systematic growth. That is, it grows even though sometimes it seems that the forces of the universe conspire against it. His star statement was: “It’s as if, regardless of what we want, things move anyway.” Translation: the renewable energy ship has sailed, and if you don’t get on, you’ll stay on the dock watching it sail away, even if you continue dreaming of the coal era. The best thing is that, according to him, this development is sustained and tends to go faster and faster. Sure, like a snowball going downhill, but in a country where bureaucracy sometimes acts like a wall of ice.
And in case anyone doubted it, the specialist proudly listed the jewels in the crown: thermal solar, wind, photovoltaic and hydroelectric plants that are already supplying the population in a sustainable way. Or at least, a part of it. This technological deployment has allowed, in an almost magical act, to move towards a more diversified energy matrix. That is, we are stopping putting all our eggs in the same fossil basket, a strategy that, surprisingly, is giving results.
Innovative alternatives: Because putting a solar panel on your roof is almost mainstream
But the industry, in an effort not to be left behind, is implementing what they grandly call new distributed generation alternatives. This includes everything from the now ubiquitous solar thermal panels to batteries and electrical generators. Basically, they want each citizen to feel a little like Tony Stark generating their own clean energy, seeking what they long for: efficiency and better results. Robles Pérez, closing his intervention like a modern prophet, concluded that this comprehensive collaboration is fundamental. In other words, if everyone pretends to work together, in the end maybe, just maybe, they will manage to consolidate the long-awaited energy transition in the country. A happy ending that, for now, is still in the writing process.
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