We are involved in the extension of the Los Azufres plant in Mexico, which obtains renewable energy from the centre of the earth.

The genset supplied by Genesal Energy is ready to power the critical loads at2,856 M above sea level, where the plant is situated.

Geotherm is a renewable energy source which is generated by the heat expanding from the core of the earth. Currently, Mexico is one of the most advanced countries in this field, and in Los Azufres the country’s second largest reserve also one of the biggest in the world is found (the largest in Mexico being in the state of Baja California).

The Los Azufres power plant is located in the state of Michoacan, 250 KM from the capital Mexico City. Due to the potential of this energy source, the Federal Commission for Electricity has driven the construction of Los Azufres III-Phase 2 expansion, with a net capacity guarantee of 25MW. This will be focused on supplying power to the Michoacan cities of Hidalgo and Zinapecauro. The objective is to ensure a stable and renewable supply for the ever-increasing energy demands in the region.

Genesal Energy has supplied emergency back up power for the plant, a made to measure generator set, very different to standard gensets, in that it can operate at almost 3000M above sea level.

The generator set, was the result of an exhaustive study detailing all the technical requirements of the project. Various aspects were analysed such as the conditions the genset would be working in, as well as calculating the loads it would support and the load steps in order to determine the most adequate engine and alternator.

The role of the new generator set in the Los Azufres Geothermal Plant is to supply power to the critical (essential) loads in the case of a mains grid power failure, with the objective of bringing the power plant to a safe shutdown and not a sudden stop. This is achieved using an Automatic Transfer System (ATS) to switch the power from the mains to the genset.

Some other interesting facts about this Project

• The control panel was designed to a very specific specification, which was supplied by the client’s engineers – requiring a control cabinet with a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) and a Siemens Siplus touchscreen.
• The control panel and the entire genset installation has been prepared to work in an environment with a high concentration of H2S (sulphuric acid – a gas which is heavier than air, inflammable and colourless). To protect against H2S and for easy maintenance all the PLC cards are covered with an acrylic based plastic. Additionally, the connectors on the cards and where they connect are gold plated to withstand a permanent concentration of 3mmm of H2S gas.
• It comes with a Modbus tcp/ip card and a fibre optic converter via a manageable switch with two fibre optic ports to create a fibre optic ring and guarantee continued communications.
• As well as communication, the most important signals are sent wired. This ensures all the genset information is stored in the Scada system in the DCS of the geothermal plant, and total control via SCADA.