Mexico launches international geothermal tender for four wells

Mexico's electricity and clean energy institute Ineel has launched an international tender to drill four wells for geothermal exploration in Baja California.

The deadline for bids is December 9. (Bidding document available for download under the Documents box on the right-hand column.)

Under the tender, three exploration wells are to be drilled at Cerro Prieto and one at Las Tres Vírgenes. 

At both these locations, Mexico already produces electricity from geothermal energy.

The tender is supported by US$51.5mn of funding from the Clean Technology Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank. 

Mexico has been generating geothermal energy since 1959 and has nearly 1000MW of capacity. 

The largest geothermal plant is Cerro Prieto with 720MW, followed by Los Azufres in Michoacán (188MW), Los Humeros in Puebla (40MW) and Las Tres Vírgenes (16MW). 

In 2023, these plants generated 4,321GWh of geothermal power, according to data from the International Energy Agency.

Ineel said the aim of the tender is to increase the share of geothermal energy in electricity generation in Mexico.