On February 6, Ben Zion, an environmentalist and the owner of Solar San Miguel delivered the last solar panel to the rural community of El Pedregudo. El Pedregudo, along with five other communities, has benefited from a $735,000 peso contract between Solar San Miguel and the municipal government to install solar panels in homes. The installation of solar panels impacted the lives of 195 people. The contract also included cov- ering the 17 kilometer road from the city of San Miguel de Allende with “tepetate” and cobblestone.
For Zion, this project not only signifies the beginning of new opportunities for rural communities in San Miguel de Allende, but also signals a national movement towards the use of solar lighting in locations where the monopoly-holding Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) cannot reach.
At present, federal legislation to open up the CFE to private invest- ment in the production of electricity is occurring in Mexico City.
“We’re waiting to see what it will say,” Zion says. “It would take dozens of millions of pesos to light up communities that are off the main juice lines. This is the chance for solar energy to do its complementary job.”
Victor Velázquez, director of the Department of Environment and Ecology in San Miguel, says that Zion won the bid among three companies offering the solar installation and that in the near future other communities will also benefit.
Zion is looking forward to more contracts, as dozens of more than 400 rural communities within the SMA municipality “are still in the dark.”
At the inauguration ceremony in El Pedregudo, municipal treasurer Jaime Labrada announced that a total of $250,000 pesos was invested into the commu- nity. In addition to solar panels, the town will also enjoy an addi- tional five public “dry restrooms.”
“These public works are possi- ble only because we are not stealing public money, and we do not take bribes,” Labrada pointed out, telling the people of El Pedregudo that the Mauricio Trejo Administration will place gov- ernment money where it belongs.
Community leader Ángeles Pacheco applauded Mayor Mauricio Trejo for the inclusion of El Pedregado in the project, noting that “previous municipal administrations have never paid attention to us and this project will change our lives.”
Ben Zion, whose company So- lar San Miguel has been operating for seven years, is pleased by the turn of events.
“Plans to install solar electricity for 20 more homes as early as this spring are currently under nego- tiation with the municipal govern- ment,” he declared.
