RFClark
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CFE power was out for almost 24 Hrs this week
CFE service due to a transformer failure was out in areas from El Pescadero to as far north as Loreto this week.BCS is vastly under electrified as
well as having the most expensive electricity in Mexico. Rotating blackouts are common in the hotter months.
We don't have CFE so we didn't know that there had been another outage until the bakery we frequent told us. This failure was caused by a transformer
failure on one of the major BCS inter-ties possibly the one that connects La Paz, Construction and Los Cabos. In is not uncommon for outages of a few
hours to occur in the Todos Santos area.
Below is a description of the BCS power grid from Mexico Business News.
https://mexicobusiness.news/entrepreneurs/news/baja-californ...
“Due to its geographical characteristics, Baja California Sur is the only state in the country that is not connected to the NES. The state has two
electrical systems, the Baja California Sur Electrical System, with cover from Loreto to Los Cabos, and the Mulege Electrical System, located in the
northern part of the state.
Ninety-five percent of the electrical energy of the BCSES during 2019 was generated with CFE units.[1] The BCSES had a Maximum Integrated Demand of
513MW in 2020.[2] Currently, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has a total of 638MW in the following plants in the state: Punta Prieta
(1104MW), Los Cabos (84MW), Mobile Emergency Unity Los Cabos (74MW), La Paz (25MW), Constitucion (28MW), Baja California Sur Internal Combustion Plant
(188MW), Internal Combustion Plant San Carlos (93MW), Mobile Emergency Unit Baja California Sur (26MW), Los Cabos/Emergency Mobile Unit (17MW). [3]
The main consumption is in the Los Cabos area (San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas), while generation comes mainly from La Paz. Ciudad Constitucion
serves as a provider of surpluses to La Paz and La Paz provides surpluses to Los Cabos. Los Cabos and La Paz have high consumption due to the tourist
activity in the area. The areas of Comondu, Mulege and Loreto are dedicated to primary activities. Their greatest consumption of electrical energy is
in the agricultural sector and in water pumping.
There are two private initiatives in La Paz: Aura Solar I, with 39MW and Aura Solar III, with 32MW, which includes a storage capacity of 10.5MW/ 7MWh
with lithium-ion batteries. It is the first storage solution for large-scale projects in Latin America.
The state's energy matrix runs on fuel oil and diesel, which have high transportation costs. Compared to the rest of the country, this electricity
system has a very high dependence on heavy fuel oil with high sulfur content. In 2019, fuel oil covered approximately 87 percent of the demand for
this service. [4]
The high sulfur content of this fuel generates severe levels of air pollution that affect the health of the population and the environment. This
problem is more evident in the municipality of La Paz, which generates more than 85 percent of the electricity consumed in the BCSES and through which
the largest volume of fuels is supplied throughout the state. Twenty-five percent of the infrastructure in Punta Prieta is over 30 years old. Having
fulfilled its useful life, this area generates a great deal of pollution and there are risks in its operation. [5]
There are permanent campaigns by civil organizations in Baja California Sur that criticize the poor quality of the air and demand the installation of
renewable plants throughout the peninsula. The Management Program to Improve the Air of the State of Baja California Sur (Proaire BCS), based on the
Inventory of Pollutant Emissions into the Atmosphere for the State of Baja California Sur, indicates that electricity generation is responsible for 92
percent of emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) throughout the state. [6]”
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JDCanuck
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The combined solar is twice the size I had thought it was at 71MW, I notice it doesn't mention the windmills contribution or the newer combined cycle
liquid natural gas generating plant that i understand was just purchased by CFE. Its sad that the rest of the power is primarily oil fired high
polluting sources as its about the worst next to coal they could have.
I was especially encouraged by these recognitions in that article:
"In this overview there is good news: Baja California Sur is an ideal place to build an energy transition model, as it has high solar and wind
potential, especially on the west coast.
The wind generation is nocturnal, beginning to grow at noon. The hours of generation range from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m. and it has its maximum generation at
9 p.m. The increase in generation at 3 p.m. coincides with the “Solar Duck Curve,” which helps to compensate for solar output and coincides with
the hours of maximum generation. From 6 to 9 a.m., the consumption ranks between 375 and 408MW when the wind drops and there is no sun and the lowest
part of the demand curve occurs.[10]
This state is also an extraordinary area for solar technology, as it has five peak solar hours. Just with solar panels on a small scale, it would be
possible to supply two-thirds of the week in Baja California Sur. [11]
[Edited on 6-7-2024 by JDCanuck]
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RFClark
Super Nomad
Posts: 2457
Registered: 8-27-2015
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Mood: Looking forward to 2024
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JD,
This study is a couple of years old. It was the most comprehensive I could find in a couple of minutes of searching. The BCS power mess is why I’m
glad we have solar. It’s overcast here today 62F, about 50% of the normal solar and we’re still charging the PHEV.
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JDCanuck
Super Nomad
Posts: 1538
Registered: 2-22-2020
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RFClark: Yes, I think you have the right idea and what we had planned for our place before we sold. You can power that hybrid with enough power to get
to La Paz or Cabo for free from the daily excesses from your panels, and in addition, future plug-in hybrids will have power supply to emergency load
capabilities if you do happen to have your system go down.
[Edited on 6-8-2024 by JDCanuck]
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