Solar–geothermal hybrid system

The Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Plant is located in the northwest of Mexico, lat. 32°39′, long. 115°21′ in the northern hemisphere. A solar–geothermal hybrid system is proposed in order to increase the steam flow during the present geothermal cycle, adding a solar field of parabolic trough concentrators. Energy is supplied to the geothermal flow from wells in order to increase the steam generation rate. This configuration will increase the capacity factor of the system by generating additional steam during the peak demand hours. The parabolic trough solar field is evaluated in North–South and East–West orientation collector alignments. A proposal to obtain an increase of 10% in steam flow is evaluated, as the increase in flow is limited by the content of dissolved salts, so as to avoid a liquid phase with high salt concentrations. The size of the parabolic troughs field was obtained.