Agua Prieta II: The first integrated solar combined cycle power plant in Mexico

Agua Prieta II: The first integrated solar combined cycle power plant in Mexico

A consortium made up of Spanish firms Elecnor and Sener will be putting into operation the 400MW Agua Prieta II combined cycle plant in Mexico. The contract totals US$252mn and will be carried out under the Mexican government's public works financing model. The consortium will also be responsible for integrating a 12MW solar component for a thermo-solar hybrid setup.

Agua Prieta II is the first integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) power plant in Mexico – one of the first power plants of its type in the world – and it is being equipped with the SPPA-E3000 low-voltage switchgear solution from Siemens Energy. Agua Prieta II is a combined-cycle power plant (CCPP) that has been extended with a solar field and parabolic trough collectors. In this type of power plant, the steam generated by the solar field is fed into the water-steam cycle of the CCPP to increase steam turbine output and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The power plant in Mexico will have an output of approximately 465 Megawatts (MW) with a contribution from the solar field of 12 MW.

The Agua Prieta II plant is being constructed close to the city of the same name in the state of Sonora and, after it is commissioned in April 2013, it will supply electricity to northwest Mexico. The end customer is the Mexican state power provider Comisión Federal de Electricidad, which already operates two plants of the same type in Morocco and Algeria.

The Douglas Regional Economic Development Corporation, along with the Douglas International Port Authority have structured a relocation assistance program in which DREDC/DIPA will provide; Housing availability, information on primary, secondary and post secondary school programs in the area, information on community base civic groups and tourism offices and finally spousal employment opportunities.