An 11,000 m² solar heating installation supplied by Danish company Arcon-Sunmark is the main attraction at the Hedensted Fjernvarme district heating plant - and the reason why a delegation of Mexican mayors civil servants stopped by last week.

“We’re in Denmark to learn more about sustainability and how we can become more efficient when it comes to energy consumption,” says Director for Energy Development at the regional Nuevo León Ministry of Economic Development, Jorge Gorozpe Velázquez.

Mexico has plenty of sun, but they need a way to harness that energy for heating or cooling plants – and one way is an installation like the one at Hedensted Fjernvarme, located between Vejle and Horsens.

“We want to learn more about Danish energy projects and see how we could follow that example in Mexico in order to become more energy efficient,” said Jorge Gorozpe Velázquez.

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Sun as process heat

Arcon-Sunmark has already installed one major solar heating system in Mexico. The company did so in 2016 at a copper mine that uses solar energy to produce process heat for copper extraction in the mine.

Thomas Karst, CEO of Arcon-Sunmark explains that large-scale solar heating sets itself apart by being economically competitive, flexible in terms of use options, functional in extreme weather conditions – and, of course, completely clean.

“We’re proud to share our experience and knowledge with the delegation from Mexico, and we hope that their visit will help Mexico find good, sustainable solutions to the country’s increasing energy needs,” he says.

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Visit can help promote exports

The challenge for Mexico is that steady growth in the country’s economy combined with increasing purchasing power have set new demands for energy supply.

The delegation included representatives from some of the country’s biggest states such as Mexico City, which has about 25 million inhabitants.

The Mexican delegation of civil servants therefore took an inspirational trip around Denmark to take a closer look at available technologies that could supply renewable energy to millions of Mexicans. The tour was organised by the Confederation of Danish Industry in cooperation with the Danish Embassy in Mexico and State of Green.

Denmark’s ambassador in Mexico, Lars Steen Nielsen, is convinced that the visit will help promote Danish solutions in Mexico – to the benefit of Danish business.

“The fact that these Mexicans have personally visited the Hedensted’s district heating plant will make a huge difference when it’s time to decide on solutions. A company such as Arcon-Sunmark will automatically be one of the companies that comes to mind,” he said.

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Sun and wind are the future in Mexico

In addition to plenty of sun, Mexico also has the right preconditions for development of its wind energy sector, and the country is prepared to spend money on it.

The coming 15 years will see large investments in the Mexican energy sector. 24 per cent of the estimated investments are expected in wind projects and 13 per cent in solar projects.

“For the state of Nuevo León, which is where I come from, it is important to attract greater wind projects and Vestas is one of the biggest players globally. So, we want to see what they’re doing and how Nuevo León and other states can apply this themselves and attract other wind projects to the country. This is important for the development of renewable energy,” said Jorge Gorozpe Velázquez, Director for Energy Development at the regional Ministry of Economic Development in Nuevo León.

In addition to Hedenstad Fjernvarme, the Mexican guests also visited Ørsted, Vestas, Semvo Maritime, Polytech, AVK and LEGO House.

Danish companies will have the opportunity to participate in a follow-up delegation to Mexico in September.

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