Tres Virgenes Geothermal Plant.
“Las Tres Vírgenes” is the most recent field in operation in Mexico. It is located in the middle of the Baja California peninsula, at the north of the state of Baja California Sur and inside the buffer zone of the El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve.
There are only two condensing 5-MW power units in operation that were officially commissioned in 2002. Generation of electricity in 2009 was 39.6 GWh, at an annual mean capacity factor of 45% (0.45).
Las Tres Vírgenes is inside a Quaternary volcanic complex composed of three N-S aligned volcanoes, from which the name of the field becomes. The geothermal fluids are hosted by intrusive rocks (chiefly granodiorite) and the heat source of the system is related to the magma chamber of the La Virgen volcano, the youngest and most southern of the volcanic complex.
During 2009 there were three production wells in operation that produced 0.48 million tons of steam at an annual mean rate of 54.8 t/h. Unlike Los Humeros, wells of Las Tres Vírgenes produce much brine: in 2009 the associated brine was 1.77 million tons. All this brine was fully injected through one injection well.
The steam produced and the electricity generated in Las Tres Vírgenes in 2008 and 2009 represents the highest ones since the field started to be exploited, even though they are still far away from the optimum. However during 2010, the mean capacity factor has been increased to 80%, thus contributing with almost 65% of the total isolated generation system in that part of the country.
GEOTHERMAL ACTIVITY AND DEVELOPMENT IN MEXICO - PDF
