VIEW FROM THE TOP
ONE-STOP SHOP FOR MEXICO’S ENERGY MARKET OSCAR SCOLARI CEO of Rengen Energy Solutions
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Q: What is keeping waste-to-energy from becoming
running. The most efficient way to produce thermoelectric
attractive in Mexico and how is Rengen working to make
energy is with natural gas. For this reason, natural gas-based
waste-to-energy a reality in the country?
energy production will remain the backbone of the world’s
A: Waste-to-energy is based solely on an alternative for solving
generation capacity for a long time.
environmental problems. It is a way to avoid burying trash that generates toxic leaching, poisoned groundwater and methane
Q: How has CFE received Rengen’s offers to convert and
that is released into the atmosphere and contributes to global
revamp its power plants?
warming. As a matter of fact, waste-to-energy, although much
A: CFE will be a big consumer of these types of services
cheaper than plasma and pyrolysis, is not an economical way
because it has inefficient power plants that must be brought
to produce energy. Therefore, waste-to-energy should not be
up to proper production and efficiency levels. CFE has no
considered as a primary method for producing energy but as
other choice but to improve these plants or shut them down.
a way to solve an ever-increasing environmental problem that
Although it now has the biggest share of consumers, as more
also allows us to create energy. Mexico’s politics make it hard
producers enter the market and start to aggressively offer
for waste-to-energy projects to become a reality. These are
cheaper MWs, those consumers may leave CFE.
expensive developments, and while the financing is available, it may be approved too close to the next round of elections.
Rengen has also been working with smaller plants in a range of 50-200MW. We have provided quotes for several clients
To address this issue, we are working to attract loans
in the center and western regions of the country. Although
from international organizations and to offer lost fund
we have mastered the technological and economic processes
schemes to spark these projects, but this is still under
required to complete the quotation, we are now working on
development. We are also perfecting waste-to-energy
facilitating financing solutions so our clients have access to
technologies and processes to make them more efficient
long-term loans if they need them, thereby increasing the
and environmentally friendly.
possibility they will accept our services. Some banks are interested in our models, as well as some international funds.
Culture has been an obstacle as it is not the state government
This solution has also attracted the attention of CFE.
but the municipalities that are responsible for the trash they generate. A municipality generating a small amount of trash
Q: What market opportunities does Rengen see in the
with a small budget much prefers to simply bury it than to
construction of transmission lines?
make a big investment for an expensive plant.
A: Rengen is constantly providing project quotes for this sector. This is a highly attractive and competitive market
For this reason, we are also promoting a strategy wherein
that will boom as ever more power-generation projects
small municipalities can band together and gather the needed
are being constructed. In this area, we are finishing three
amount of refuse or urban solid waste to make the project
projects on the Yucatan peninsula. Our goal is to offer CFE,
economically viable. Now is the moment to invest, and we
and other customers that are looking to construct new plants,
should not miss the opportunity. The environment demands it.
the possibility of also installing the transmission line, thus becoming a one-stop shop for them.
Q: What is the potential of converted and revamped power plants in Mexico? A: When the wind does not blow or the sun does not shine,
Rengen Energy Solutions is a Mexican engineering, procurement
industrial processes cannot stop. Thermoelectric energy
and construction (EPC) firm specialized in building and
is therefore the basis of any industrial process because it
operating gas-fueled cogeneration plants and projects for the
provides constant energy generation to keep processes
oil and gas and petrochemical industries
