Challenges and Opportunities for Implementing Sustainable Energy Strategies in Coastal Communities of Baja California Sur, Mexico

This dissertation explores the potential of renewable energy and efficiency strategies to solve the energy challenges faced by the people living in the biosphere reserve of El Vizcaíno, which is located in the North Pacific region of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. This research setting provides a practical analytical milieu to understand better the multiple problems faced by practitioners and agencies trying to implement sustainable energy solutions in Mexico. The thesis starts with a literature review (chapter two) that examines accumulated international experience regarding the development of renewable energy projects as a prelude to identifying the most salient implementation barriers impeding this type of initiatives. Two particularly salient findings from the literature review include the importance of considering gender issues in energy analysis and the value of using participatory research methods. These findings informed fieldwork design and the analytical framework of the dissertation. Chapter three surveys electricity generation as well as residential and commercial electricity use in nine coastal communities located in El Vizcaíno. Chapter three summarizes the fieldwork methodology used, which relies on a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods that aim at enabling a gender-disaggregated analysis to describe more accurately local energy uses, needs, and barriers. Chapter four describes the current plans of the state government, which are focused in expanding one of the state’s diesel-powered electricity grids to El Vizcaíno. The Chapter also examines the potential for replacing diesel generators with a combination of renewable energy systems and efficiency measures in the coastal communities sampled. Chapter five analyzes strategies to enable the implementation of sustainable energy approaches in El Vizcaíno. Chapter five highlights several international examples that could be useful to inform organizational changes at the federal and state level aimed at fostering renewable energy and efficiency initiatives that enhance energy security, protect the environment, and also increase economic opportunities in El Vizcaíno and elsewhere in Mexico. Chapter six concludes the thesis by providing: a summary of all key findings, a broad analysis of the implications of the research, and an overview of future lines of inquiry.Ph