| Keywords |
Mexico, geothermal production, geothermal-electric capacity, geothermal fields, Cerro Prieto, Los Azufres, Los Humeros, Las Tres VÌrgenes. |
| Abstract |
Four geothermal fields are currently operating in Mexico (Cerro Prieto, Los Azufres, Los Humeros and Las Tres VÌrgenes), with a total installed geothermal-electric capacity of 953 megawatts (MWe). This means the country is located in third place, worldwide, just behind the USA and the Philippines. Thirty-six power plants of several types (condensing, back pressure and binary cycle), between 1.5 and 110 MWe, operate in the fields, fed by 197 wells with a combined production of 7,700 metric tons of steam per hour (t/h). These production wells have depths between 600 and 4,400 meters. Steam comes with 8,750 t/h of brine that is injected through 19 injection wells or treated in a solar evaporation pond of 14 km2 in Cerro Prieto. During 2003, steam produced in those fields equaled 67.5 million metric tons, and the power plants generated 6,282 gigawatt-hours (GWh), which represented 3.1% of the electric energy produced in Mexico. All the power plants and the geothermal fields are operated by the public utility, the ComisiÛn Federal de Electricidad (CFE). Direct uses of geothermics are under developed and limited mainly to bathing and swimming facilities. |