Innovacion Solar: Pioneering Renewable Energy Independence in Mexico
In Los Cabos, Mexico, a land of endless sunshine, over 15 years ago, Innovacion Solar started in renewable energy. The power in Los Cabos operates similar to an island since they are not connected to any other source of power, the local grid is powered by diesel and oil fuel. Because of the area’s uneven power supply, Innovacion Solar is on a mission to design and deploy highly reliable, off grid renewable energy systems for home and businesses.
Because renewable energy is nascent in Mexico, Innovacion Solar has had to look to technology providers and manufacturers worldwide for the best options and solutions. With a passion for deploying solar power, they are dedicated to sharing their knowledge locally and with the rest of the country. According to Francisco Vargas, COO, “At this point, we’re changing how people see the world of renewable energy and aiming to develop what we like to call our BHAG, our big hairy audacious goal, to make Mexico energy independent.” With over 1400 installations and 40 installer partners nationwide, Innovacion Solar has the experience, expertise and scale to reach their goals.
Since the main industry in Los Cabos is tourism, many of their customers are either serving out-of-towners or people looking to power their dream homes. Although many clients turn to Innovacion Solar because of savings, they also gain energy independence. The Innovacion Solar systems act as microgrids generating energy during the day with solar panels and using stored energy from batteries during the night. Projects range from five kilowatts up to half a MW serving residential areas and some boutique hotels with high power needs. One project was Chileno 214, a house constructed to maintain a consistent temperature by utilizing the earth’s ground mass and thick walls to limit temperature fluctuations. This “thermal” inertia lowers power usage by 30-40% allowing Innovacion Solar to install a renewable energy system and enable a 100% energy independent home. Chileno 214 has a maximum solar capacity of 56 kWp and supports a maximum daily load of 455 kWh per day. Comfortable, reliable, cost effective and independent.
New Sun Road is proud to partner with Innovacion Solar and help accelerate local clean energy adoption in Mexico. Francisco states “New Sun Road has been able to make possible the crazy things that we thought that were impossible, like integrating multiple sources and being able to map, read and control renewable energy assets, almost like a microgrid controller, but on steroids.” Together, Innovacion Solar and New Sun Road are improving the experience of the end user, optimizing operations to reduce costs and leveraging system data to ensure reliability.
New Sun Road’s new Energy Analysis Dashboard provides the missing piece that Innovacion Solar was looking for to cater to their clients. This dashboard provides a comprehensive analysis as opposed to simply having real time data in graphs and charts. Clients can easily see and track their savings and energy usage.
Energy Analysis Dashboard: Green bars show when energy is discharged by the batteries and blue bars show when energy is being stored. These graphs provide a comparison of the energy stored with the energy used.
Innovacion Solar’s commitment is bringing state-of-the art control and data analysis to Mexico. With over 15 years of project experience and know-how that they are sharing across Mexico, Innovacion Solar is building clean energy infrastructure that will serve future generations.