As the country's industrial production grows, the adoption of sustainable alternative sources of energy supply is becoming increasingly popular. More than a trend, companies gain competitive advantages that are reflected in their economy and sales.

Generating energy through renewable and sustainable sources in Mexico is a great area of opportunity for industries that need a continuous energy supply, to maintain active production lines, preserve commodity chains, plan, or to have an effective monitoring system.

Having alternative sources such as solar panels, wind or hydraulic systems within companies was until a few years ago a project under development that implied investments of millions of dollars, but nowadays, the interest and competitive advantages that these systems offer have turned sustainability into an added product at an international level.

In the opinion of Enrique Chavez, Mexico Director of Critical Energy and Digital Infrastructure at Eaton, the adoption of sustainable methods is already beyond a trend, and Mexican companies now have specialized departments in their operations. “This is part of an energy transition that has been seen with greater force in recent years, companies are increasingly aware and need to implement sustainable means in their energy supply, no longer want to rely on fossil fuels and the options are diverse and even benefit in the markets, because customers want to know how their products were made”.

Gradually, the country's industrial production has been using energy systems that do not depend 100% on fossil fuels, and this has generated greater positioning in market issues, which encourages others to bet on clean and renewable energies.

In addition, due to the trends and greater demand for electricity in the future, companies can't plan for growth without sustainability being the basis of their operations. “Energy consumption within industries in Mexico will not decrease, on the contrary, quite considerable increases are expected for example with new technologies that have been implemented such as data centers, so the main recommendation for those companies that do not yet have energy efficient systems is to make a strategic plan that shows the areas of highest consumption and viable sources for the transition,” added Enrique.

With various technological systems, supply equipment, artificial intelligence systems, and new technologies, Mexico can advance above other countries in Latin America in this area, and 2030 is the closest date for most companies to meet sustainability goals, ranging from reducing carbon emissions, water consumption, and energy consumption.

Therefore, the Eaton executive spoke about the most popular trends in the market that have been most successful among companies, for example, lithium batteries that allow power supply, UPS systems, and Energy Aware. These systems prevent damage to industrial equipment in the event of unforeseen power outages.

He emphasized that among the main competitive advantages of these tools are the continuous energy supply, cost reduction, and storage. “Companies can detect the times when their supplier raises service rates, and energy storage is very useful, because these systems can supply energy without affecting production chains because the service is never interrupted and equipment care is guaranteed; the economic part is definitely very important and in Mexico return models of between 3 to 5 years can be achieved”.

While the energy challenges are not unique to Mexico, the country's growth in nearshoring investments emphasizes the need for companies to excel in clean energy generation, and the outlook for the future points to an increasingly popular and easy transition for companies.

Sources:

Mexico Industry, “Sustentabilidad energética: la nueva ventaja competitiva de las industrias en México” October, 7th 2024, accessed in:

https://mexicoindustry.com/noticia/sustentabilidad-energetica-la-nueva-ventaja-competitiva-de-las-industrias-en-mexico 

CONAHCYT, “Conahcyt analiza futuro y sustentabilidad energética en México” January 24th 2024, accessed in:

https://conahcyt.mx/conahcyt-analiza-futuro-y-sustentabilidad-energetica-en-mexico/