It may sound daunting, but although there is a great technology, in Mexico there are more than 500 thousand houses without electricity, mainly in indigenous and rural communities; ironically, they could be the most important generators of energy by having one of the basic raw materials to generate it, the sun.
We are talking about the use of photovoltaic systems of solar energy, these systems capture the sunlight to transform it into electric energy and, because of its geographical location, Mexico is a country privileged by the levels of solar radiation, and potentially could be a generator of electric power; as well as being an economical and environmentally friendly source of energy.
Just applying this system in the state of Sonora would be enough to generate energy for the whole country, because the amount of solar radiation it receives; it is one of the strongest in the world, similar to that recorded in the Sahara desert; it generates a surplus of almost 100 GWh a year, according to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
This system has many benefits, for example; It will never fail because of its constant energy, it is friendly to the environment, it is reliable and maintenance-free, it does not generate noise, it is cheap compared to electricity, it has a wide range of solar panel systems available, it´s technology is constantly improving.
In Mexico, solar energy is more economically attractive thanks to the significant decrease in its price for the demand it has had. In addition, various technologies and materials have been explored to reduce manufacturing costs; so that its application in the agricultural field would be viable and would favor its technification.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recommends and supports the dissemination of the use of this renewable energy in agriculture as a very useful tool for the development of poor rural communities in a short time; Its use promises interesting practical applications, many of these are completely new; while others, such as heating greenhouses, have only perfected their techniques.
Among the most significant uses of solar energy in the rural sector are water pumping, solar cooling, rural electrification, fence electrification, solar thermal energy, water heating and solar food drying.
Source: FAO, SAGARPA, UNAM