MEXICO Trends and Developments Contributed by: Carlos de Maria y Campos, Francisco Fernández Cueto, Antonio Borja and Eduardo García Travesi, Galicia Abogados
No project can obtain a generation permit or begin construction without prior MISSE approval. Key trends include the following. • MISSE is now a mandatory step in the permitting process for any new power project. • Early and effective community engagement can facilitate MISSE approval and reduce permitting delays. • Well-designed social strategies can strengthen a project’s social licence and lower conflict risk. Compliance with MISSE is not just a formality – it is a precondition to developing any project. Developers who approach social aspects proactively, rather than reactively, will have a clearer and faster path to execution. Regulatory certainty, strategic positioning and market outlook A tangible sign of this more structured and predict- able environment is the launch of the 2025 Call for Priority Energy Projects by SENER. This call identifies strategic areas for investment in generation, and sets clear timelines, participation mechanisms and selec- tion criteria. It represents the first operation step to align private investment with national planning priori- ties, providing a concrete entry point for developers and investors. After years of legal uncertainty and policy volatility, the 2025 reforms offer a more stable and predictable regulatory baseline. While the new model is more centralised and state-led, it provides clarity regard- ing the state’s role, planning criteria and contracting mechanisms. This creates strategic advantages for well-prepared investors.
• Stable planning criteria reduce regulatory risk. • Clearer regulatory pathways accelerate develop- ment timelines. • Legal and financial structuring become key differ- entiators in accessing opportunities. • Strategic partnerships with CFE and other state entities will become central to many projects. The most promising opportunities include: • renewable generation and storage projects inte- grated into binding planning instruments; • distributed generation and self-consumption for large-scale users; • strategic alliances with CFE; and • innovative financing anchored to long-term offtake agreements. Looking ahead, government-led calls like the 2025 Call for Priority Energy Projects are expected to become recurring entry points for private participa- tion. Rather than broad liberalisation, this model relies on structured windows of opportunity tied to national planning priorities. For investors able to anticipate planning signals, build strong community strategies, and structure projects around clear offtake schemes, this new framework provides a more stable and bankable playing field.
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