California Governor Gavin Newsom and Sonora, Mexico Governor Alfonso Durazo Montaño witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on March 17 at a ceremony held at the Stanford Mansion in Sacramento.
California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild signed together with Dr. Francisco Acuña Méndez, chief of staff to Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo and honorary president of Sonora’s Council for Sustainable Development (CODESO).
Text of the MOU is available here.
The MOU is a flexible framework to permit collaboration on clean energy, sharing the following common objectives: increasing development of renewable electricity; maintaining electric system reliability and expanding regional access to renewables; increasing energy efficiency in buildings; increasing resiliency of supply chain for components essential to the clean energy transition; supporting research and development in clean energy and electric mobility.
The objective of the MOU is to collaborate on clean energy through initiatives focused particularly on, but not limited to, the following areas of cooperation: renewables energy efficiency, electric system reliability and markets, electric mobility, clean and renewable hydrogen, supply chain development, supporting research and development.
CalChamber Luncheon
Before the MOU signing, the California Chamber of Commerce hosted a small luncheon for Governor Durazo, Mexico Consul General Christian Tonatiuh González Jiménez based in Sacramento, and Dr. Francisco Acuña Méndez.
Dr. Acuña spoke last August about the Sonora Plan at a CalChamber International Luncheon Forum attended by close to 90 business and government leaders, including 11 California legislators.
This year’s luncheon included government and business leaders together with private sector representatives from Sempra and the Institute of the Americas, as well as CalChamber President and CEO Jennifer Barrera; and CalChamber Senior Vice President of International Affairs Susanne T. Stirling.
Government leaders attending were Yana Garcia, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency; Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Resources Board; Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency; and Dee Dee Myers, director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.
Sonora’s strategic advantages in the manufacturing of renewable energy and potential to become the “Silicon Valley of Mexico” was the focus of the luncheon.
Governor Durazo began his remarks by sharing that it was former Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s vision to turn Sonora into the Silicon Valley of Mexico and that this vision is continued by current President Claudia Sheinbaum. Both presidents identified the need to develop clean energy, concentrate talent in Sonora, and utilize the minerals produced in the state, which has the second largest mine in the world for copper plus large reserves of lithium and other minerals.
This vision is what developed the Sonora Plan, which will not only generate clean energy for Mexico, but has the potential to export to the United States, the Governor said.
Sonora is investing in new manufacturing facilities that will partner with companies in California, Arizona and Texas. These new facilities will create high-value manufacturing jobs on both sides of the border that will focus on semiconductors, automation and production of electric vehicles, the Governor said.
He pointed out that these three sectors make Sonora a better, closer alternative than Southeast Asia. Sonora not only borders Arizona and Texas, but also has the only port in Mexico that connects to the United States (both Los Angeles and Chicago) through a railroad system — the Port of Guaymas, one of two deep water posts in the state of Sonora — and with more coastline than any other Mexican state.
The Mexican government has invested significantly in the port, which is working with Europe’s Port of Antwerp-Bruges to develop itself so it can become competitive around the world and in North America.
More than 250 multinational companies work in Sonora, spanning the automobile industry (such as Ford Motors), agribusiness, electric vehicles, electronics, semiconductors, aerospace, renewables and minerals.
The state of Sonora also is investing in education. Acuña said that to educate its workforce on renewable manufacturing, Sonora will be sending 30 students to Taiwan universities to learn about the semiconductor industry. It also is creating industrial and science innovation centers to teach the next generation of manufacturing. In addition, the state is developing an agenda to teach English to all children in public schools.
Besides clean energy, Sonora also is focusing on transition energy, through liquified natural gas (LNG). It has become a hub that is competing with Qatar and other regions, he said.
In all, the Sonora Plan is looking at four areas: human talent working with more higher education institutions, energy, critical minerals and infrastructure in the state to pave the way for the future.
Staff Contact: Susanne T. Stirling
