| Abstract |
Geothermal direct uses in Mexico remains scarcely developed and limited to balneology. The current installed geothermal-electric capacity in the country as of December 2013 is 1017 MWe, distributed into four geothermal fields in operation. The geothermal-electric running capacity is 839 MWe, since the four oldest units of Cerro Prieto (with a combined capacity of 150 MWe) are out of operation, along with five of the eight back-pressure units in Los Humeros (25 MWe) and the two only binary cycle units in Los Azufres (~3 MWe). All of those geothermal fields and power plants remains being owned and operated by the state utility CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad). Two additional geothermal projects are currently under construction: Los Azufres III with 50 MWe and Los Humeros III-A with 27gross MWe. During 2013, 28 power plants of condensing, flash and back-pressure type were in operation in Mexico, producing 6,070 gigawatts-hour (GWh) that represented 2.4% of the total electric output for public service in the country. An average of 223 production wells were in operation producing 56 million of metric tons of steam accompanied by 67 million metric tons of brine, at an annual average of 6,358 tons per hour (t/h) of steam. The brine was disposed by a solar evaporation pond in Cerro Prieto and by 26 injection wells operating in all the four fields. Two permits for private geothermal-electric developments have been issued for one small-production and one self-supplying project, both located in Nayarit, which are the first ones in Mexico. It is estimated that more than 14,000 t/h of geothermal fluids in Mexico are utilized for direct uses, with an installed capacity of 156 MWt for balneology and bathing purposes. There are high expectations for future geothermal development in Mexico, due to a new regulatory framework of the power and geothermal markets and the foundation of a national geothermal innovation center (CEMIE-Geo). |