DEG supports training centre for solar technology in Mexico

Mexico offers ideal location conditions for solar energy. The lack of know-how, however, constitutes an obstacle for the utilisation of solar energy for power generation (photovoltaics) or the exploitation of heat and cold (solar heat).

This is why DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, now supports the set-up of a training centre for solar energy generation. The private partners of the projects are ERDM SOLAR S.A. de C.V. (ERDM), a German-Mexican producer of photovoltaic modules, and Renewables Academy (RENAC), a German training company in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency. ERDM and RENAC together contribute more than 190,000 euros to the project and integrate further companies from the solar sector, which for instance provide training equipment. DEG complements this amount by another 190,000 euros from develoPPP.de, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Programme of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). 

In Mexico’s “energy mix“, solar energy has so far played but a minor role, mainly because of the lack of qualification of planners and technicians on the one hand, and of know-how of political decision20 makers. 

This is where the project comes in: In cooperation with RENAC, ERDM develops a comprehensive training programme addressing engineers, technicians and facilitators. Depending on the relevant target group, the curriculum includes, for instance, the planning of plants, project steering, calculation, assembly or repair and maintenance, but also basic knowledge on financial and legal aspects. After a 3- to 5-day training, the participants receive a certificate. The trainings are at first intended to be held in Mexico City, and later on also in Cuernavaca and Querétaro, the economic and scientific centres of renewable energy in Mexico. A solar panel on the roof of  the “German Centre Mexico“ in Mexico City – which accommodates, amongst others, the DEG Representative Office – is intended to be used as a demonstration plant and for practical evaluations within the scope of the project. 

The project aims at professionalizing the construction and operation of solar plants and at abolishing the reservations against the utilisation of solar technology in political and economic circles. Photovoltaics offers the advantage that it can be used locally, for instance for the operation of irrigation pumps or telecommunication stations in rural regions, where in Mexico today around 4 million people are living without any access to electricity.