Sustainable management model based on renewable energies for the first capital of the Californias, Loreto, Mexico

The Mexican state of Baja California Sur has a high rate of population growth. It is also one of the states that are most vulnerable to climate change. Due to its location on the southern side of a roughly 900-mile long peninsula, and its natural separation from mainland Mexico, its power trans- mission networks are completely independent of the rest of the country. Thus, nearly all the energy used to generate electricity must be shipped to the state in the form of fossil fuels. The importation of energy supplies from the mainland results in higher costs for the state than in other areas of the country, causes greater environmental damage, and prevents a steady supply of energy to the state. This study’s objective is to propose a sustainable management model and to provide a reference to feasible sites available that could serve the Loreto region. An analytical model has been developed with multiple criteria and geographic information systems. This will allow for a wide range of spatial analysis of information covering the calculation of slopes, orientation, irradiation, infrastructure, etc. The municipal region of Loreto has roughly 288 square kilometres of land deemed suitable for the installation of solar plants. This area comprises 1.62% of the municipality. In 2016, the maximum electrical power demand for the entire state of Baja California Sur was 628 Megawatts per hour according to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). Loreto’s electrical capacity is currently 17MWh. Based on calculations that one photovoltaic plant located on two acres of land can produce one MWh, solar plants in the region could, theoretically, produce up to 14,403.35 MWh. Clearly, this potential capacity would be well above the demands of the municipality, which encompasses 3.8% of the state territory.