In early June, energy experts from Canada, Mexico and the United States met in Zacatecas, Mexico, to discuss ways to increase the production and use of renewable energy in North America.

The CEC's meeting took place during International Week for Promoting Solar Energy in Mexico, held 4-8 June. The week's events featured a solar energy symposium sponsored by Mexico's Energy Secretariat (Sener), the state of Zacatecas and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

CEC Executive Director Adrían Vázquez-Gálvez spoke at the symposium, along with Zacatecas Governor Amalia García Medina, Mexico's Energy Secretary Georgina Kessel and other key government officials.

Discussions at the CEC's renewable energy meeting included a focus on the state of Mexican renewable energy markets and on three sources of renewable energy: wind, biomass and solar. Experts from federal government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, including the Red de Bionergía, as well as industry associations such as the Asociación Mexicana de Energía Eólica and the Asociación Nacional de Energía Solar also identified collective ways to advance the renewable energy agenda throughout the three countries.

In Zacatecas, the CEC also presented a paper entitled Fostering Renewable Electricity Markets in North America, which examines specific opportunities for Canada, Mexico and the United States to promote both the production and purchase of renewable electricity. Among its conclusions, the paper identifies regulatory mandates, voluntary purchases, self-supply and financial incentives as the most important drivers behind the renewable electricity market in North America today.

For more information about the CEC's event, its work on renewable energy, or to download the Fostering Renewable Electricity Markets in North America paper, please visit www.cec.org/energy.