The Mexican Case

Víctor José Lizardi Nieto

General Director, CENAM
Latin American and the Caribbean are aware of the need to

accelerate and intensify the actions and investments necessary

for a low- carbon future.

Meeting these needs will require the concerted action of OAS

Member States to increase energy efficiency and expand the

use of renewable energies.

Advanced measurement infrastructure for alternative energies and improved

measurements of air quality and GHGs are required.
Climate Change

GHGs

Hydrocarbons

Other Sources

Clean Sources

Water

Wind

Solar

Geo

Bio

Electricity

Smart Grids

Pollution

Air

Water

Land

Society

Industry

Commerce

Agriculture

Transport

Households

Others New Order

Energy Sufficiency

Clean Environment

Government-Ministries:

Policies – Strategies – Regulations - Incentives

Quality Infrastructure: Support to policies, regulations, interoperability...
Metrology

Standardization Accreditation

Industry and 

Social 

Sectors Conformity 

Assessment

© Alan Bryden, ISO Secretary-General.

Pillars of the Global Quality Infrastructure

Science 

and 

Tecnology
Regional Metrology Organizations (RMOs)

Source: BIPM .http://www.bipm.org/en/worldwide-metrology/regional/

NORAMET

CAMET

CARIMET

ANDIMET

SURAMET

EUROMET

SADCMET

COOMET

APMP
Mexican commitment emissions of greenhouse gases under the baseline 

scenario (BAU) and iNDC mitigation unconditional goals, 2013-2030.

-22% 

MtCO2e

iNDC: Intended Nationally Determined Contribution

LULUCF:Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry
25 %

75 %

2018

30 %

70 %

2021

35 %

65 %

2024

38 %

62 %

2030

50%

50 %

2050

Smart Electrical Networks

RNT and RGD

Interconnection Canada-USAMexico-Colombia

Clean Distributed Generation

Electric vehicles

Development of own technologies for 

clean energies

38 %

62 %

2040

American continent: How we will move towards 2050

Clean 

energies

Conventional 

energies

Source: SENER- Programa de desarrollo del Sistema Eléctrico Nacional (PRODESEN) 2017-2031.

Interconnection

Alaska-Patagonia ?
Urban Energy Transition

Source: Clean Energy Ministerial. Public-private Roundtables at the Sixth Clean Energy Ministerial. 27-28 May-2015. Mérida, México.
Clean sources and their measurement needs

Solar Wind Hydro Geothermal Biomass Cogeneration

Irradiance Wind Speed Composition

Temperature Temperature Temperature Temperature Temperature Temperature

Pressure Pressure Pressure Pressure Pressure Pressure

Flow Flow Flow Flow Flow

Heigth Heigth

Density Density Density Density

Volume Volume Volume

Heat Power Heat Power

Ouput Power Output Power Output Power Output Power Output Power Output Power 

This is the issue of Metrology which is the science of measurements and its 

application is increasingly valid in the energy and climate change topics.
International Standards for Renewable Energy 

Sources

Conventional 

energy sources

IEEE P1547.1 

Distributed 

Energy 

Resources

IEC 61727 PV 

interface

IEC 61400-21 wind 

turbine quality of 

power

IEC 61000-4-30

Quality of power: tests 

and measurements

IEC/TR 60919, 61 

803 (HVDC) High 

voltage DC 

networks

IEC 62954 VAR 

compensators

Optimized power flow 

and network stability
Metrology

Standardization

Accreditation

Energy Reform:

Oil, Electricity, 

Energy 

Efficiency

Environment Agenda

CO2 and GHG 

reduction

Pillars of the Global Quality Infrastructure

Secretary of Energy

Secretary of Environment 

and Natural Resources

Secretary of Economy
Primary Reference System for 

Solar Radiation Measurement in 

process

Testing

Laboratories

Industry

Secondary

Laboratories

Metrology

Standardization

Accreditation

Certification

Power Quality

There is no national 

solar reference 

standard. (in process)

There is no national 

standards.

There is no 

accredited

laboratories yet.

Users

Solar Energy:

Thermal and Photovoltaic
Test labs &

UVs

Oil industry

suppliers & 

OOs

Secondary

laboratories

Metrology

Standardizati

on

Accreditation

Amount & Quality of Natural Gas

Some Measurement

Standards for Natural Gas 

available in CENAM, some

still missing

Standards and regulations in 

place and being improved

and updated

Several accredited

laboratories and verification

units, more are required

Users

Amount and quality of natural gas

Flow, Pressure and Temperature standards

✓

High flow & presure NG (in process)

CRMs for natural gas composition ✓

Some Quantities in NG quality (missing)

Transport

Explotation

End users

Oil

Operators

(OOs)

Transport & storage companies

...

Importations Exportations

Value

chains
Traceability & PTs

Legal metrology

Traceability 

EPA equivalent 

protocol of CGMs

Evaluation of EPA gas 

mixtures

LA mobile 

emission 

project

Inmissions 

(traceable 

tests of GHGs)

Emissions (traceable local 

emission factors of GHG 

inventories)

Ozone and MoU with 

INECC (air pollutants)

Traceability of VOCs 

LA projects: PT and 

low price sensors

OAS-NIST LA 

project on AQ

Climate sciences and clean air:

national infrastructure for policies

STACK EMISSIONS

MOBILE EMISSIONS GHGs

AIR QUALITY

Latinamerican GHG

project

Vehicle exhaust emission

technology evaluation

SRP-29 UV Photometer

GC for GHGs

NIST 

commitment

(10 CRMs)

FT-IR now

GC-PCR-FID for VOCs

FT-IR in 1 or 2 years

CRMs cylinder

storage room

PT Stack tests

NO-QL gas analyzer

BIPM 

commitment
Collaboration with environmental Authority INECC

on MINAMATA convention

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

010

1

010

2

010

3

010

4

010

5

010

6

010

7

010

8

010

9

011

Concentración de masa de Hg ( 

0

Hg,

μg/L)

No. de Laboratorio Valores individuales Valor certificado

COLLABORATION PROJECT OF CERTIFIED REFERENCE MATERIALS OF MERCURY

ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITIES: SEMARNAT-INECC-MEXICO

CENAM has been collaborating with INECC-SEMARNAT in develop Measurement 

Method ́s and Certified Reference Materials (CRM) to allow the Mexican Analytical 

Laboratories to use them to validate their measurement methodologies for mercury. 

Program 2017:

• Developed CRM of calibrator of total Hg.

• Developed CRM of Hg in synthetic waste water 

• to organize a proficiency test service 

• to strengthen capacities for measuring mercury in water.

EMPIR collaboration is underway
Collaboration with Cities, Organizations and Scientific

atmospheric communities

GHG concentrations in Megacities Satellites and remote sensors

and local stations

Several purposes

Other relevant and rising measurement types for GHGs and air quality

http://www.atmosfera.unam.mx/espectroscopia/ALTZ/

https://megacities.jpl.nasa.gov/portal/

http://www.gosat.nies.go.jp/index_e.html
• variables

Source: https://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/gcos/index.php?name=EssentialClimateVariables

The Essential Climate Variables
Achievements and Challenges of the Quality Infrastructure

for Energy and Climate Change in Mexico

Achievements:

✓ Government Policies aligned to international agreements in 

both, Energy Transition (Structural Reforms) and 

Environmental Protection.

✓ Increasing interactions among the actors of the Quality 

Infrastructure: SENER, SEMARNAT, SE, Commissions and 

Agencies, Standardization, Accreditation bodies,...

✓ Solid basis in CENAM for accurate measurements of gas and 

oil, electrical energy, solar radiation, temperature, flow, etc. 

National Standards, Talent, Reference Laboratories...
Achievements and Challenges of the Quality Infrastructure

for Energy and Climate Change in Mexico

Challenges:

• To Increase collaboration in the Continent through OAS, SIM 

and other organizations.

• To strengthen coordination among authorities and 

organizations responsible for regulations, standardization, 

metrology and conformity assessment.

• To increase measurement capabilities in different fields: 

CRM-GHGs, Solar Reference Systems, Wind Speed, Biofuels 

composition, heat power and smart grids.
Dr. Víctor José Lizardi Nieto

vlizardi@cenam.mx

Dr. René David Carranza López Padilla

rcarranz@cenam.mx

Dr. Jorge Koelliker Delgado

jkoellik@cenam.mx

For more information please contact us at CENAM