Its about Amata Regulatory Dam Hydroelectric Equipment Project (PEH Start) in the municipality of Cosalá in Sinaloa; for construction a time of 2 years and 5 months, and your operation will have a useful life of 50 years.

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) by María Luisa Albores, the past was pronounced 9 December in favor of the CFE project, directed Manuel Bartlett Díaz.

According to information from the State Productive Company held by Forbes Mexico, the project will be carried out taking advantage of the existing infrastructure of the dam to complement it with civil and small-scale electromechanical works.

The objective is to benefit from the runoff from the Saint Lawrence River, unloaded by the Professor Raúl Jaime Marsal Córdoba “Comedero” hydroelectric plant, and the load obtained from the damming of these discharges by the regulating dam.

With the development of the mini-hydroelectric plant it will be feasible to produce electricity throughout the year, what will answer the demand that exists in the Northwest region of the country.

According to the Electricity Market Development Planning Scenario, it is estimated that the maximum demand of the northwest area will grow annually 2.6% on average during 2020-2034.

"Thus, intends to install 10 MW of net capacity of PEH Amata, which will contribute to meeting the demand of the system at the lowest total cost in the long term ", justifies the CFE.

The State Productive Company highlights that in this way it is intended to contribute to meeting the demand for electric power projected for the National Interconnected System based on the forecasts of the Program for the Development of the National Electric System (Prodesen) 2020-2034 and increase the production of electrical energy with clean and lower-cost energy.

The execution of the project is under a generation scheme of type "at the foot of the dam", therefore the turbines must be located at a considerably short distance from the downstream curtain, particularly in the case of the Amata Regulatory Dam.

The permanent works that this small-scale hydroelectric plant considers are office platforms, electrical substation, access roads and a bridge.

The project will be made up of the following components: call channel (structure to collect water), control work, driving (pipes to feed the turbines), machine House, vent and a work of intake, the latter is made up of a call channel and a control structure for the water supply to the turbines.

The PEH Amanta was considered by the CFE in its annual report on 2019 as one of the main infrastructure projects of that year under the name Hydroelectric Generation Work in Amata Regulating Dam, of an installed capacity of 10 MW.

The Mexican Institute of Water Technology in 2017 identified Amata as one of the 25 existing hydraulic structures with the potential to install small plants of between 5 a 30 MW.

Although the authorization of the Semarnat was given in the past 9 December as stated in the official letter of the General Directorate of Environmental Impact, the CFE launched the 20 November 2021, the open competition for the equipment of the Amata Regulatory Dam, which is still valid, pending award.

Fountain: Forbes