The first stage of the Mexican Wind Atlas (Atlas Eolico Mexicano) project was inaugurated on Friday, Mexico's Secretariat of Energy (SENER) announced.

The initial stage includes the installation of seven 80-meter (262.5 ft) towers, that will send, via a satellite, temperature and wind speed data in intervals of 10 minutes. The information will be processed by a software developed at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

The aim is to help develop capabilities to plan the exploitation of Mexico's wind resource for large-scale, medium-scale and small-scale power generation.

The towers are strategically placed in the states of Puebla, Yucatan, Tamaulipas, Baja California, Chihuahua, Oaxaca and Jalisco. New sites will be added to these locations, with measurements to be conducted until mid-2020.

The project is supported by the Fund for Energy Transition and Sustainable Use of Energy (FOTEASE) with MXN 34.6 million (USD 1.9m/EUR 1.5m). It is coordinated by National Institute for Electricity and Clean Energy (INEEL). Other participants include the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), SENER, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and DTU under a cooperation agreement with Denmark.

Friday's inauguration of the project's first stage took place at the Technological Institute of Tepexi de Rodriguez in Puebla.