The presidents and cross-border energy

Virtually unreported in May during Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s state visit to Washington, D.C., was the pledge by the U.S and Mexican presidents to cooperate further on cross-border energy issues, especially renewables.

Indeed, they made a commitment to create a Cross-Border Electricity Task Force.

Some critics decried the announcement as presidential meeting fodder. Worse, others pointed to years of similar efforts that produced few results.

Those criticisms seem short-sighted for a variety of reasons.

First, there is strong evidence otherwise along the California-Baja California border, where it is increasingly apparent that renewable energy presents a huge opportunity to move cross-border discussions ahead.

Baja California’s wind energy potential is tremendous -- the second largest in Mexico after Oaxaca – and a slate of projects are underway or on drawing boards. Baja California also counts important solar and geothermal potential.

When coupled with the increasingly stringent renewable portfolio standard (RPS) in California – which might require 33 percent of the state's energy needs from renewables by 2020 – the combination provides potent opportunities.

California is a huge market that is in need of increased renewable-based power generation. Baja California needs an additional market if it is to realize its huge natural resource potential.

To be fair, there are serious issues to be confronted -- not the least of which is the desperate lack of electric infrastructure along the border. Moving renewable power to market either in Mexico or California is far from assured.

Moreover, critics are not wrong in contending several previous bilateral efforts to collaborate on energy issues have produced little. But the backdrop in both countries has changed greatly, and whenever an issue is raised to the level of a presidential deliverable, it must be considered a positive step forward.

Perhaps most relevant for the latest effort at cross border energy collaboration is, for many, also its most appealing element: It has almost nothing to do with immigration or drugs. It is a real economic development opportunity with potentially positive impacts for both sides of the border.

There is a lot to be said for having energy collaboration serve as a change of pace from the current slate of negative news emanating from the U.S.-Mexico border.