21 September 2020
Cubico Sustainable Investments has been announced as the winner in the Impact Project of the Year category for renewables at the Environmental Finance IMPACT Awards 2020.
Announced online on 14 September, the first ever IMPACT Awards seek to acknowledge and reward the efforts of investors, while highlighting best practice across all asset classes around the world.
The Impact Project of the Year award specifically recognises Cubico’s 250 megawatt (MW) Mezquite wind farm in Mina, Nuevo León, for its economic, social and environmental contributions to its local communities, as well as Mexico’s energy sector.
The project, which became Cubico’s first operational wind farm in Mexico and the largest in its global portfolio in June 2019, is hugely important for a country in which more than two million people lack access to electricity their homes.
Through a long-term power purchase agreement with Mexico’s state-owned utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad, Mezquite provides low-cost energy for the low-income residential and agribusiness sectors.
In addition, Cubico has leveraged the strong relationships built since the project’s early development stages to design a number of corporate social responsibility initiatives to help tackle the pressing needs of local communities, including the quality of education and health and fitness.
Speaking from Cubico’s London office, Steve Riley, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are extremely proud that Mezquite has been named renewable impact project of the year by Environmental Finance.
“From development to operations, it’s been a brilliant example of how renewable energy projects can be built and managed to ensure that the benefits extend far beyond the power produced. Mezquite is feat of innovation, collaboration and diverse expertise, and its success is a great testament to the Cubico team, as well as all the partners and stakeholders involved.”
Along with the Mezquite project, Cubico also owns the 350 MW Solem solar PV plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico, one of the largest of its kind to reach commercial operations in Latin America.
