Elecnor to build a 790-MW combined-cycle plant in Mexico
Madrid, 26 October 2015.- Elecnor, in a consortium with Duro Felguera, has won the tender organised by the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to build the Empalme II combined-cycle plant in the state of Sonora.
The total cost of the project is USD 397 million (equivalent to around EUR 349.3 million at current exchange rates), according to the terms of the contract signed late on Friday, 23 October in Mexico City.
The project involves the design, construction, installation, testing and start-up of the plant, which will have an approximate installed capacity of 790 MW and be natural gas-fired. It will have two gas turbo-generator units, two heat recovery boilers with three pressure levels and a steam turbine. The cooling system will be simple and employ sea water. The plant will be connected to a 400 kV substation.
According to the CFE, the facility's purpose is to meet the growing demand for electricity in the north-west of the country.
Eight consortia submitted bids, with six selected as finalists in an 8% price range. Elecnor and Duro Felguera were eventually awarded the tender, having achieved the best score following the technical and economic evaluation.
The plant is expected to take 30 months to construct.
Presence in Mexico
Elecnor is currently building another combined-cycle plant in Mexico, which was also awarded by the CFE. This facility, the Agua Prieta II plant, is also in the state of Sonora. It has guaranteed capacity of 394.1 MW. Another significant undertaking in the country is the construction of the Morelos gas pipeline, which will transport natural gas from the state of Tlaxcala to Morelos, in central Mexico.
Elecnor has been present in Mexico's electricity market since 1992, during which time it has developed global capacities as an EPC provider.
Through its Mexican subsidiary, Elecnor has also expanded its activities into fields such as gas infrastructure under concession arrangements, large-scale power plants, the health sector, renewables, telecommunications and information systems, oil and construction and installations.
During its almost 25-year presence in Mexico, Elecnor has developed 65 electricity substations with a total installed capacity of 7,000 MVA, 1,100 kilometers of transmission lines and around 255 kilometers of fibre optic cable. It has also built or refurbished six hospitals and a hydroelectric power plant.