Annual Report 2016
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MEXICO

Rodolfo Silva-Casarín, Juan Carlos Alcérreca Huerta AND Elizabeth Rodríguez Aguirre Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

OPEN SEA TEST SITES
As yet no open sea test site facilities have been fully developed to include grid connection, nor has there been any deployment of sensors for measuring the performance of devices as ocean energy, exploration has only had a serious impulse in recent years.

One open sea test site has been used for small scale, informal research activities, at the Station Unit of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) at Puerto Morelos in Yucatan, South East Mexico. The site facilities have allowed the implementation of small scale prototypes in a safe area where supervision from the Research Institution and the University is easy, as well as the monitoring of the performance of the device.

An open sea test site was designated in 2013, in North-western Mexico, at the port of El Sauzal, close to Ensenada in Baja California, for testing Wave Energy Converters (WECs). The installation site was selected considering the: a) the wave energy potential of the site, b) its proximity to a urban area with the necessary infrastructure for manufacturing, as well as several Research Centres, c) the low probability of extreme waves and hydro-meteorological events (e.g. hur ricanes, storms), d) environmental impacts considering that testing in minimized by existing infrastructure, e) land and sea access points, f) the port provides a sheltered area for the electromechanical components of the devices. Further open sea sites are planned, most of them located on the Mexican Pacific, for which wave, current and tidal energies can
be tested.


OPERATIONAL PROJECTS
As of 2016, no operational projects have been developed in Mexico in terms of technology demonstration. Existing technology for ocean energy has been developed worldwide but not for Mexican conditions, so that research and applied technology must address national needs.


PLANNED DEPLOYMENTS
A mechanism and device to capture wave energy in NW Mexico is being developed as the result of the collaboration between industry (Exclusive High-Tech [DINA]) and academia (Engineering Institute-UNAM). Up to now, the design has been tested with numerical models in order to meet the performance needed for Mexican waters (including extreme events, such as hurricanes), so that, prior to scaling and placement in the ocean, errors are minimized and costs reduced.

The device will be placed close to the facilities of the port El Sauzal, Baja California, with a planned installed capacity of 100-200 kW. Scaling of the device can later produce an installed capacity of 1.0 MW. Tests and laboratory experiments will be conducted during 2017.