Commentary 1
Title of the article: “Tortilla makers save money and turn to solar power in Querétaro.”
Source of the article: Mexico News Daily- https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/tortilla-makers-
save-money-and-turn-to-solar-power-in-queretaro/
Date the article was published: January 7, 2021.
Date the commentary was written: March 19, 2021.
Word count of the commentary: 800 words
Unit of the syllabus to which the article relates: Microeconomics
Key concept being used: positive externalities of production
, Article
Tortilla makers are going off the grid in Querétaro.
Tortilla makers save money and turn to
solar power in Querétaro
Loan program helps with the installation of the solar panels
Published on Thursday, January 7, 2021
162 SHARES
Mexico’s history of making tortillas goes back centuries but in the state of Querétaro
today’s tortilla makers are producing the staple food in a thoroughly modern way —
using solar power.
According to the Federation of Producers of Corn Flour and Tortillas, a trade
association for tortilla shop owners and other related producers in the state, 40% of
, its 389 tortillerías are currently powered with solar panels, which are not only more
environmentally friendly than conventional electricity but ultimately cheaper for the
proprietors as well, says association president Arturo Campos Novoa.
The eventual goal, says Campos, is to get 100% of shop owners off the grid.
The initiative, which is financed in part by the organization and in part by the state
government, allows tortilla shop owners to take out 40,000-peso, low-interest, no-
collateral three-year loans to purchase and install the photovoltaic equipment.
As soon as a participating business gets the panels, it stops paying for conventional
electricity. Meanwhile, the loan’s monthly payments end up costing about the same or
less than owners are used to shelling out for monthly electric bills.
“Over three years, they have to pay [monthly] for the [solar panels], but after that, it
will be a benefit to the business,” said Campos, explaining that after the loan term, the
owners make more profit since they have fewer overhead costs.
He estimates that altogether, participants in the program are already saving 20,000
pesos bimonthly against projected electricity costs.
And what’s good for tortillerías is also good for Querétaro citizens, he added, since
more profitability means that tortillerías can afford to keep their prices down, even
when the cost of ingredients goes up.
The state’s price ceiling on tortillas, an amount regulated by the government, has
stayed the same in Querétaro since 2018 at 18 pesos per kilo, and Campos predicts
that it will remain the same into next year thanks in part to the program.
Sources: El Universal (sp), Diario de Querétaro (sp)
