Chinese solar and batteries power a car plant in Mexico

October 29, 2026. A Chinese automaker with a plant in Mexico built its own power system of 18.2 megawatts peak (MWp) of solar panels and 10 megawatt-hours (MWh) of batteries, according to a report by Héctor Usla in El Financiero on October 27. The case was presented at Huawei's 7th Global Installer Summit, held October 21 to 23 in Dongguan, China, whose official programme included a session called "BESS: Powering industrial growth in Mexico".

The project: panels and batteries in 10 months

El Financiero says the project was described by Alejandro Sánchez, commercial director of Ventura Energy. The automaker was not named for confidentiality reasons. The system runs as grid-connected self-supply and took 10 months from the first structure to operation.

The company first considered a gas plant, but investment and maintenance costs pushed it towards solar with storage. The newspaper reports savings of 70 % to 75 % on the client's energy bill. Sánchez warned that it is complex engineering work to find the best cost for each client.

Huawei's numbers for Latin America

In the same report, Andrew Ding of Huawei Digital Power said the company's solar business in Latin America and the Caribbean passed USD 150 million in revenue through partners as of October 19, 2026, and estimated that solar-plus-storage projects in Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Colombia and parts of Central America can pay back in under four years, depending on the project. These are the company's own figures.

What to check before buying solar equipment from China

Our take: Chinese makers of inverters, panels and batteries are now part of complete industrial projects in Latin America, working with local integrators. You can buy through an integrator or import the equipment directly and hire local installation. Either way:

• Size the batteries from your load curve, not from your roof area.
• Ask for datasheets, battery transport certificates (lithium batteries ship as dangerous goods) and a written warranty with local support. Our certifications and lab testing service checks the paperwork.
• Check grid-connection permits in your country before you order.
• Inspect the equipment at the factory before it ships: a product inspection costs far less than a failed container.

Need to compare inverter, panel or battery makers? Our supplier sourcing team works from Dongguan, the same city that hosted the summit.

• Supplier sourcing
• Certifications and lab testing
• Product inspections