ENER-G boss on mission to Mexico
SALFORD-based ENER-G has joined Prime Minister David Cameron on a high-level business delegation to Mexico, which is hosting the G20 and B20 summits in Los Cabos.
The delegation also includes Diageo, Rolls Royce, Virgin Atlantic, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Business Ambassador Tamara Mellon and other major exporters as well as Chancellor George Osborne and Trade & Investment Minister Lord Green.
The Prime Minister and the business delegation arrived in Mexico on Tuesday and travelled to Mexico City yesterday. Today, the Prime Minister is expected to hold bi-lateral trade meetings with Mexican leaders.
ENER-G recently celebrated the official opening of its major renewable energy generation facility in partnership with the Municipality of Aguascalientes in central Mexico. This £4.4 million investment by ENER-G through sister company Biogas Technology uses biogas generation technology made in Salford to produce renewable energy from landfill gas.
The renewable power is being used by Nissan at its local car manufacturing plant. The project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions at the landfill site by 90,000 tons per year – helping Mexico to deliver on targets set in its new Climate Change Act.
ENER-G Natural Power managing director Hugh Richmond, who is travelling with the business delegation, said: “We’re proud that our biogas generation project in Aguascalientes is contributing to the country’s visionary climate change targets, as well as supplying green power to Nissan. ENER-G sees huge investment potential in Mexico’s emerging renewable energy industry.”
ENER-G Natural Power specialises in biogas generation – utilising methane from landfill gas, anaerobic digestion and mines to generate renewable electricity. It is the renewable energy division of UK clean tech group ENER-G, which has a turnover of £130m.
The B20 summit, which immediately precedes the G20 and is due to be opened by Mexican President Felipe Calderón, gathers senior business people to discuss themes such as growth, development, trade and investment.
Lord Green said: “Almost 200 years ago, the UK was the number one European exporter to Latin America. British expertise helped to build Mexico’s railways and canals, but UK firms currently account for less than 1% of Mexico’s imports. We need to turn this performance around in one of the world’s most promising markets.”
Mexico is currently the 14th largest economy in the world and the second-largest in Latin America.
