Need directions to the Residencias Reef condo development on the south side of Cozumel? Want to see what the drive is like? Check out this handy video:
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Mexico’s federal government agency for Environmental and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) has given the green light for the creation of a new hotel on the south side of the island, to be called the Sheraton Bahía Turquesa.
If you remember about six months ago, there was a bit of controversy regarding this project. The construction company in charge started building without the proper approvals, destroying a bunch of mangroves and closing a section of the ocean road that runs along the ocean in the process. It got fined some $30,000 USD as a result, and was ordered to halt any construction.
Well, we’re back on. Fines have been paid, approvals have been gotten.
On a separate note, the agency also ruled that a proposed fly-in/fly-out and golf development to have been built around the private airport, also on the south side of the island, would have too great of an environmental impact, and will not go forward in it’s current form.
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Way back in July of 2011, we wrote about a proposed wind farm project for the east side of Cozumel. Our article roughly coincided with when the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, announced plans for the project.
Since then, we’ve come across numerous articles about the project. One, in the Mexican magazine Luces del Siglo, implies that installing the turbines is a priority for Calderon. According to the article, the president sees renewable energy, and by extension the proposed development, as part of his legacy.
Most recently, the plans that were submitted for the farm, totaling some 115 turbines (in red above), were ix-nayed by Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) as being way too extensive and damaging to the ecology of that part of Cozumel.
So is the project dead? Me thinks not. The Mexico Power Group, the company leading the project, is due to resubmit approvals in November 2012 for a much smaller project, totaling only 26 turbines. We’ll see what happens in November, but given how much of a priority wind power is for President Calderon, we would not be surprised if a scaled-down project ends up happening.
We’ll keep you updated…
Update 11/5/12: Mexico is making the development of wind power a priority. With this kind of national attention, development of some sort of wind project on the easy side of the island is bound to be a priority. Read this article to learn more about the country’s wind power goals.
Update 3/22/13: According to the “El Economista” Mexico Power Group has decided not to construct any wind turbines on Cozumel’s east side due to its inability to get past local environmental regulations. Read more about (in Spanish) here.
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