The Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales has issued its environmental approval for the Comisión Federal de Electricidad’s long-planned combustion power plant in Cabo San Lucas, clearing the project’s largest regulatory hurdle and setting the stage for construction to begin on a facility officials say will help stabilize the region’s often-strained electricity grid.
The approval covers the removal of vegetation across more than 17,000 hectares and requires CFE to carry out reforestation programs on 18,000 hectares, including the relocation of flora and fauna. The environmental impact statement catalogued more than 15,000 individual cacti representing ten species — cardón, pitaya, biznaga and others — along with deer, foxes and additional wildlife.
For a region that logged 77 power outages in a single summer, the combustion plant represents a significant addition to local generation capacity. The facility will run primarily on natural gas with diesel as a backup fuel, and its preparation and construction phases are expected to take three years, with operations planned for up to 30 years once completed.
Water and Environmental Conditions
Semarnat’s resolution includes a firm restriction: CFE may not drill its own wells to supply water for the plant. All water must come from external sources holding proper legal authorization, a requirement that addresses concerns about groundwater pressure in the drought-prone Los Cabos corridor.
The vegetation removal and reforestation requirements are among the largest the agency has mandated for a single project in Baja California Sur. CFE will be required to transplant or propagate cactus species and ensure fauna corridors remain intact during and after construction.
Timeline and Grid Impact
The permit comes nearly a year after CFE submitted its environmental impact statement. With Semarnat approval now in hand, the utility can move forward with land preparation and infrastructure contracts. According to federal records reviewed by Tribuna newspaper, the three-year construction window positions the plant to begin operations around 2029, coinciding with peak seasonal demand as tourism and residential development continue to grow.
CFE has already taken steps to shore up the existing grid, including the activation of new transformers in Los Cabos. But longer-term stability depends on new generation capacity, not just transmission upgrades. The combustion plant is designed to supplement the grid during high-demand periods and provide backup when renewable sources are offline.
Environmental groups have raised concerns about air quality and emissions from a fossil-fuel facility in a region marketed for its beaches and outdoor tourism. Semarnat’s approval includes monitoring requirements, though details on emission limits and public reporting schedules were not disclosed in the initial resolution.
For now, the project moves from the waiting room to the construction queue. In Baja, a project is never just a project. It is a promise, a budget, a ribbon-cutting photo and, eventually, a test of whether anyone remembered the maintenance plan.
