Japan’s Tokyo Gas and French energy giant Engie have set up a joint venture to develop wind and solar projects in Mexico.
The two partners said Heolios, owned 50/50, will start life with an 899MW portfolio consisting of two onshore wind and four PV plants at various stages of development.
The JV is the first foray for Tokyo Gas in renewables outside Japan, which the company said reflects the “extraordinary solar and wind resources” in Mexico.
Heolios is also a vote of confidence by two international big-hitters in the Mexican renewables sector, which has been beset by policy uncertainty following the election of a new government under left-of-centre president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Engie and Tokyo Gas cited Mexico’s ambitions to hit a 35% renewables share by 2024, and the fact that the Heolio projects have 15-year PPAs on the table from earlier power auctions – apparently unfazed by hints from offtaker and state power group CFE that it will look to “revise the conditions” of successful developers.
Financial terms of the joint venture were not disclosed.
