NEI to lead trade mission to Mexico

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce, will meet with Mexican government officials, power sector decision makers and commercial partners in June to discuss nuclear energy in Mexico.

“The mission is designed to enable delegates to assess market opportunities in the country, to develop local contacts and to visit Mexico’s existing nuclear power facility at Laguna Verde,” NEI Director of Supplier Programs Ted Jones said.

The trade mission will include a briefing by U.S. embassy officials in Mexico City, meetings with key Mexican policymakers and a visit to the Laguna Verde Nuclear facility near Veracruz, Mexico.

Mexico is considering adding up to three nuclear plants, as well as small modular reactors for power and seawater desalination, at the Laguna Verde site where U.S. companies currently supply and service nuclear reactors.

Last summer, the United States and Mexico devised a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement, which will be implemented in 2017.

Nuclear energy currently provides two percent of Mexico’s generating capacity, four percent of its electricity and 10 percent of its zero-emission electricity. Mexico’s national goals call for 35 percent clean energy generation by 2024, 40 percent by 2035, and 50 percent by 2050. According to Mexican law, clean energy includes nuclear power.