Environmental groups, marine biologists, and tourism operators staged outreach events in Los Cabos on May 17 to oppose a proposed gas-fired power plant in Cabo San Lucas. The campaign, called “Whales or Gas?,” is pushing residents and visitors to submit formal comments to SEMARNAT, Mexico’s federal environmental agency, before its public consultation window closes on May 26. The project would bring a gas turbine power plant, a 150-kilometer pipeline, and a regasification terminal to the southern tip of Baja California Sur.
Four Linked Infrastructure Projects Proposed for Cabo San Lucas
The proposed Internal Combustion Power Plant is not a standalone facility. Abraham Valdez, a biologist and nature tourism operator who helped organize the May 17 events, described four connected infrastructure components: the power plant itself, a gas turbine facility, a 150-kilometer gas pipeline, and a regasification terminal. Together, these would create an industrial energy corridor in the Los Cabos municipality.
Regasification terminals receive liquefied natural gas (LNG) by ship, convert it back to gas, and feed it into pipelines. Mexico already operates several such facilities along its Pacific and Gulf coasts. The Energía Costa Azul LNG terminal near Ensenada, roughly 1,200 kilometers north, began operations in 2008 and expanded in 2024. That facility drew prolonged legal challenges from fishing cooperatives and environmental groups during its permitting phase.
Baja California Sur faces a real energy problem. The state is not connected to Mexico’s national electricity grid. CFE, Mexico’s federal electric utility, relies on aging diesel and fuel oil plants to power the peninsula’s southern half. Los Cabos has grown rapidly: the municipality’s population nearly doubled between 2010 and 2020, reaching roughly 351,000, and tourism infrastructure continues to expand. Demand for electricity has outpaced supply for years.
Valdez acknowledged this gap but argued the proposed solution is outdated. “It is true that we need a transition and a way to generate energy,” he said. “The problem is that we continue to opt for the same traditional choices that rely on fossil fuels.” He pointed to Baja California Sur’s solar and wind potential, noting that civil society groups including Conexiones Climáticas, Nuestro Futuro BCS, BCSicletos, and La Ecolectiva are developing renewable energy proposals.
Whale Watching Generates Over $30 Million Annually in BCS
The “Whales or Gas?” campaign centers on a direct economic argument. Whale watching is one of Baja California Sur’s most valuable tourism products. Gray whales migrate to the lagoons of Guerrero Negro, San Ignacio, and Magdalena Bay each winter. Humpback whales gather near Cabo San Lucas and the Espíritu Santo archipelago off La Paz from December through April. A 2019 study by the International Fund for Animal Welfare estimated that whale-watching tourism generates over $30 million in annual revenue across Baja California Sur, supporting hundreds of small boat operators, guides, and hospitality businesses.
The Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It hosts roughly 900 fish species and 39% of the world’s marine mammal species. Industrial shipping traffic from LNG tankers servicing a regasification terminal could increase noise pollution and collision risk in waters where whale populations concentrate seasonally. Studies of LNG terminals in other coastal regions, including Australia’s Browse Basin and the U.S. Gulf Coast, have documented ship-strike risks and underwater noise impacts on cetaceans.
Valdez warned that continued fossil fuel reliance would also deepen the local effects of the climate crisis, including rising sea temperatures that already affect coral reefs and fish stocks near Los Cabos.
SEMARNAT Consultation Closes May 26
SEMARNAT, Mexico’s environmental permitting authority, opened a public consultation period for the power plant project. That window closes on May 26. During this period, any person (Mexican citizen or foreign resident) can submit written comments and observations about the project’s environmental impact assessment, known in Mexico as a Manifestación de Impacto Ambiental (MIA).
The organizers of the May 17 events also collected signatures citing what they described as inconsistencies in the project’s MIA documentation. Valdez did not publicly detail the specific inconsistencies, but environmental groups in Mexico have previously challenged MIA filings for incomplete baseline studies, underestimated cumulative impacts, or missing species inventories.
Comments to SEMARNAT can be submitted through the agency’s online consultation portal or delivered in writing to its offices. For residents who want to participate, the specific project file can be found by searching SEMARNAT’s public consultation page for the Internal Combustion Power Plant in Cabo San Lucas. The deadline is firm: submissions must arrive by May 26, 2025.
SEMARNAT will evaluate the public input alongside its own technical review before issuing a decision on whether to approve, conditionally approve, or deny the environmental permit. That ruling has no fixed timeline but typically comes within several months of the consultation close. Reporting on this story draws from El Sudcaliforniano.