The disruptive innovation of distributed electricity generation: a challenge for public administration in Mexico

Abstract

Distributed generation (DG) is the generation of electricity, mostly photovoltaic, close to consumption centers by individual users in residences or companies, whose main objective is self-consumption. It is considered disruptive by breaking with the paradigm of centralized generation. The objective of this study was to analyse the trend, benefits and challenges that the penetration of this technology in Mexico implies for the public administration. A study with a quantitative approach, based on empirical data published by international organizations and the Mexican government, with the study subjects being the country and its 32 States. A significant penetration of DG was found in Mexico where it has had a compound annual growth rate of 45% in recent years, reaching an installed capacity of around 3 GW. Its geographical distribution in Mexico is heterogeneous and depends on the economic level of the State. The contribution that DG makes to the energy transition is important in environmental terms, it represents a saving of more than one million tons of CO2 per year and in economic terms a significant saving for the public administration in the area of electrical energy generation. The Mexican public administration faces a double challenge: on the one hand, stimulating DG to increase the generation of clean energy to comply with international commitments and on the other, achieving the flexibility required by the National Electric System for the integration of intermittent clean energies. such as photovoltaics.