| Abstract |
Geothermal energy in Mexico is almost entirely used to produce electricity, since its direct uses are still under development and currently remain restricted to bathing and swimming. The installed geothermal-electric capacity in Mexico as of December 2008 is 958 megawatts (MW). This capacity is currently operating into four geothermal fields, namely: Cerro Prieto (720 MW), Los Azufres (188 MW), Los Humeros (40 MW) and Las Tres Vírgenes (10 MW). All of the geothermal fields and power plants are owned and operated by the governmental agency CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad). One additional geothermal project is under construction (Los Humeros II, 25 MW) and other is under international bidding (Cerro Prieto V, 100 MW), which will add a net geothermal-electric capacity of 50 MW when commissioned. During 2008, thirty-seven power plants of condensing, back-pressure and binary cycle were in operation into those fields. The annual geothermal production (2008) was 65.9 million metric tons of steam at an annual average rate of 7,504 tons per hour (t/h). Steam was delivered by an average of 229 production wells, and was accompanied by 69.7 metric tons of brine that was disposed through 23 injection wells and a solar-evaporation pond operating in Cerro Prieto. Geothermal power plants at the fields produced 7,047 gigawatts-hour (GWh) of electric energy in 2008, which represented 3.0% of the whole electric generation in Mexico in that year. Around 3,594 kg/s (12,939 t/h) of geothermal fluids are utilized for direct uses, with an installed capacity of 155.8 MWt and a mean capacity factor of 0.82, 99.9% of which are bathing, swimming and balneology. |