Technical Data

• 155 MW de Capacidad de Generación
• 47 aerogeneradores Vestas V112 3.3 MW
• Sistema Colector 34.5 kV (7 circuitos)
• Subestación 34.5-230 kV (en un área de 13,750m²)
• 38 Km de caminos internos

Social Impact Assessment – ESJ II

The Social Impact Assessment (SIA) of the Energía Sierra Juárez Expansion Project that will be developed in the municipality of Tecate in Baja California, was performed in accordance with the applicable and current national legislation, that is to say, according to the General Administrative Provisions on the Evaluation of Social Impact in the Energy Sector. The Assessment submitted to the Secretariat of Energy (SENER in Spanish), authority in charge of the evaluation and validation of it, has been accepted through the approval letter 117.-DEIS.001/2020 dated January 30, 2020.

Assessment Methodology

The methodology used for the elaboration of the SIA of the project is based on current regulations and the best international practices. Accordingly, it was developed following three principles:

• Participatory approach: In line with best international practices, the SIA included the active participation of key stakeholders in the communities of the Area of Influence in order to find out, from their point of view, what are the characteristics that define their social context, forms of organization and opinions on projects in the energy sector, among others. Stakeholder participation was voluntary and was conducted in a context-appropriate, inclusive and equitable manner.
• Human rights: The assessment was developed with a human rights approach, identifying holders of rights and duties throughout the assessment. The SIA considered the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and promoted an inclusive analysis, without any discrimination.
• Multidimensional approach: The SIA was developed using an analytical approach that considers all the aspects that make up the social context in which the project will be developed, as well as identifying the different stakeholder perspectives.

Based on the aforementioned, the participatory approach sought to incorporate a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods in order to understand the social context of the Area of Influence, the socio-economic conditions, habits, traditions and lifestyles of the population. As a result of this approach, the diagnosis, characterization and design of social management measures are the outcome of a research methodology that combines the different instruments presented below:

• Bibliographic and official statistics review: the Population and Housing Census of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI in Spanish), INEGI's Economic Census, Social Gap Index of the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL in Spanish), databases of the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples (former CDI in Spanish), National Institute of Indigenous Languages (INALI), National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH in Spanish) and the National Agrarian Registry (RAN in Spanish), academic articles, United Nations articles on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), news reviews in local media, among others.
• In-depth interviews: face-to-face interviews were conducted with public officials from the municipality of Tecate, Baja California, as well as the ejido authorities of the Jacumé Ejido, leaders of civil associations in the area, community leaders, National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) public officials, and with staff of the Energía Sierra Juárez Project. This tool sought to obtain the perspective of the interviewees on the community's living conditions, main needs and concerns, opinions on infrastructure projects, the relationship they have with the Area of Influence (if applicable), main challenges and opportunities they face, community development priorities, among other topics.
• Household surveys: 37 household surveys were conducted in the Area of Influence in the locality of La Rumorosa and in the Ejido Jacumé. These sites were chosen for two main reasons: La Rumorosa is the town located in the Project's Area of Influence with the largest population, while the Project will be developed in the ejido territory of Jacumé (where ESJ Phase currently operates) and is where the greatest impact is expected.

On the other hand, the multidimensional approach was based on an analysis of community capitals under which both the characterization of the population in the Area of Influence, the identification of impacts and the Social Management Plan were carried out. The community capitals analysis establishes that the communities have seven capitals or assets that can be used to generate additional resources: natural, human, social, political, built, economic and cultural. In this way, the combination of these contributes to the strengthening of society by generating a resilient social fabric, healthy and conserved ecosystems, dynamic and competitive regional economies, social equity and empowerment.

Results and Social Management Plan

The approach implemented to identify impacts allowed determining social impacts, both positive and negative, in the different phases of the Project. In the construction phase, a total of 12 impacts were identified, of which five are positive and seven are negative. In addition, three positive impacts were analyzed in the operation and maintenance phase of the Project: increase in sources of employment in the Area of Influence, economic benefits from lot rent to ejidatarios, and the generation of clean energy. In relation to the negative impacts, potential impacts on social, human and natural capital were identified and evaluated. Finally, the analysis of impacts during the dismantling phase yielded only two negative impacts and one positive one.

Derived from the identification of the potential impacts during the lifetime of the Project, and in order to adequately address each one of them, a Social Management Plan (SMP) was developed. The Project's SMP considers the development of a Social Management System which comprises the following elements:

• Sustainability Policy
  • IEnova’s Corporate Ethics Policy
  • Act of adhesion to the United Nations World Pact, or Global Compact
  • Corporate Social Management System

This policy and its derivatives encompass the following SMP component:

• ESJ Expansion Project Social Management Plan
  • Strategy for the implementation of measures to prevent and mitigate negative impacts
  • Strategy for the implementation of expansion measures for positive impacts
  • Community and Stakeholder Engagement and Communication Plan
    • Active and equal participation for SMP feedback Plan
    • Community Support Mechanism (CSM)
    • Worker’s Assistance (WA)
  • Social Investment Plan
  • Decommissioning Plan
  • Continuous Evaluation, Monitoring and Follow-up Plan for Social Impacts

For more information, we invite you to review the External Communication (Comunicación Externa) section on this website, which contains the details of our External Communications Registration and Monitoring Mechanism for the Project, which aims to prevent, address and resolve community concerns effectively.

Environmental Impact Assessment - ESJ II

In accordance with the applicable and current national environmental legislation, the Energía Sierra Juárez Expansion Project submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT in Spanish) the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which has been authorized through the approval letter No. SGPA/DGIRA/DG/08928 dated November 15, 2018.

Assessment Methodology

The methodology used for the EIA, specifically for the identification and valuation of the environmental impacts linked to the development of all stages of the Energía Sierra Juárez Expansion Project, is conformed by the analysis of information from the perspective of each of the stages necessary for the development of the project, taking into account the specific characteristics of these, in order to identify within the physical-natural and socioeconomic subsystems, the factors on which the project will have a direct impact.

As a first step, an environmental inventory of the Project area was carried out, studying the state of the current site and the environmental conditions before land use, the presence of existing productive activities and any other parameter related to the execution of the Project.

Subsequently, all the actions necessary for the execution of the Project were studied in order to identify, evaluate, mitigate, correct or compensate its repercussions on the environment. These actions associated with the Project that may cause modifications in environmental factors were analyzed from a triple perspective:

• For the inputs or raw materials used
• For the space it occupies
• For the effluents it emits

For the identification, characterization and evaluation of the impacts generated by the Project, different methods were used that are complementary to each other. These methods include the Leopold interaction matrix and the Fernández-Vítora evaluation methodology.

Results and Strategies for the Prevention and Mitigation of Environmental Impacts

The aforementioned methodologies thoroughly evaluated the potential impacts on the soil, water, atmosphere, fauna, flora, landscape, socioeconomic components, among others. The result of the impact identification on these components for each stage of the Project development resulted in the determination of 104 potential impacts. Of the total identified impacts by the development of the Project, 18% of them were classified as severe, 28% as moderate and 45% as irrelevant impacts. It is worth mentioning that no critical impacts were detected.

Based on the foregoing, knowing the modifications that will take place during the implementation of the Project allows determining the magnitude, duration and extent of the same. In this sense, specific measures to mitigate the effects produced by the activities related to the Project were proposed and approved, all in the interests of achieving a sustainable development in the area.

The EIA integrates as part of its structure the application of the Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP), which is composed of different plans that include mitigation measures to reduce the identified adverse impacts that could occur during the different stages of the Project. Such plans are presented below:

• Bird and Bat Monitoring Plan (BBMP).
• Fauna Study, Rescue and Protection Plan (FSRP).
• Flora Study, Rescue, Protection and Rehabilitation Plan (FSRPRP).
• Construction, Operation and Maintenance Support Plan (COMSP).
• Waste Management Plan (WMP).
• Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan (ESCP).
• Compensation in areas of occupation during the Operation and Maintenance stage Plan (CoP).

Finally, once the strategies proposed for minimizing the environmental impacts previously identified have been analyzed, it emphasizes that, with the correct application of the mitigation measures incorporated into the EMP and the compliance supervision of these, the Energía Sierra Juárez Expansion Project is viable.

For more information, we invite you to review the External Communication (Comunicación Externa) section on this website, which contains the details of our External Communications Registration and Monitoring Mechanism for the Project, which aims to prevent, address and resolve community concerns effectively.