Africa is ready to provide enough energy to achieve the most ambitious of goals, and it can do it while maintaining all environmental targets.
We believe careful planning of power systems towards more sustainable and diversified energy supply portfolios can save billions and rapidly reduce CO2 emissions. We create value through our extensive power system knowledge and experience from integrating different generating assets.
On this page, you may find our best materials and proceedings in energising and decarbonising the continent of Africa.
of engine power plant capacity installed
African countries with active customers
Wärtsilä engines installed across the continent
customers across the continent
With more than 650 employees and service hubs located in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Senegal, Wärtsilä is proud to have contributed to many industry firsts. These include Africa’s largest gas engine power plant on the Kribi coast of Cameroon with 216MW capacity, as well as Africa’s highest installation, the 175 MW power plant in Sasolburg, South Africa, sitting at 1,700 meters above sea level.
Another first, the KivuWatt power plant in Rwanda, is the first ever power plant to use the naturally occurring methane from lake Kivu to generate electricity and reduce the environmental risks associated with such high concentrations of gas. Today’s power output is 25 MW but future planned expansions to this project will increase capacity by an additional 75 MW.
Technology group Wärtsilä and Tornion Voima, subsidiary of EPV Energy, are building a new engine power plant in Finland. With a total capacity of about 43 megawatts, the engine power plant will be Finland's first to provide balancing capacity to the power system upon completion. With it, Tornion Voima will be able to guarantee electricity production during various disturbances and varying weather conditions.
Significantly increasing the use of renewable energy is crucial in achieving climate goals and a carbon-neutral future. Finland is already one of the world's leading countries in utilising renewable energy: its share of total energy consumption is over 40%, and the goal is to increase this share to 50 percent still during the 2020s. Particularly, the share of wind and solar power is growing rapidly.
"The availability of wind and solar power varies by nature and ensuring availability even during cloudy and low-wind weather requires flexible and reliable electricity production capacity. For this, a modern engine power plant is the best option. It can be started quickly, only when needed and only for as long as necessary. In addition, engine technology has the best average efficiency in these types of operating conditions," states Kenneth Engblom, Vice President, Africa and Europe at Wärtsilä Energy.
According to the Finnish energy system modelling published by Wärtsilä in April 2024, the introduction of flexible and reliable electricity production capacity would not only increase the system's reliability but also affect the development of electricity prices. The model suggests that Finnish electricity users could save up to 1.3 billion euros per year if the capacity were increased by 2 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.
At the new Tornio power plant, natural gas will be used as the main fuel in the initial phase of production. Only a small amount is needed for the balancing of electricity production. Existing regional gas infrastructure will be utilised in the commissioning of the power plant. This enables a transition to sustainable fuels later on. Wärtsilä engines are already capable of running on sustainable fuels and will do so as soon as they become widely available.
The construction work on the power plant will begin this autumn at the Outokumpu factory area in Tornio’s Röyttä. The power plant is scheduled to be commissioned in February 2026, and the final construction work will be concluded later that spring. Wärtsilä will be responsible for the construction from spring 2025 until the completion of the power plant.
Media contact for more information on this release:
Katri Pehkonen
Communications Manager
Wärtsilä Energy
Mob: +358 50 591 6180
katri.pehkonen@wartsila.com
Image text: Wärtsilä and Tornion Voima, subsidiary of EPV Energy, are building a new engine power plant in Finland. © Wärtsilä
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Wärtsilä Energy in brief
Wärtsilä Energy is at the forefront of the transition towards a 100% renewable energy future. We help our customers and the power sector to accelerate their decarbonisation journeys through our market-leading technologies and power system expertise. Our solutions include flexible engine power plants, energy storage and optimisation technology, and services for the whole lifecycle of our installations. Our engines are future-proof and can run on sustainable fuels. Our track record comprises 79 GW of power plant capacity, of which 18 GW are under service agreements, and over 125 energy storage systems, in 180 countries around the world.
www.wartsila.com/energy
Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in innovative technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. We emphasise innovation in sustainable technology and services to help our customers continuously improve environmental and economic performance. Our dedicated and passionate team of 17,800 professionals in more than 280 locations in 79 countries shape the decarbonisation transformation of our industries across the globe. In 2023, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 6.0 billion. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
www.wartsila.com
South Africa
4 Powerful Street,
Paarden Eiland
7405,
Cape Town
Tel. +27 21 5111 230
Nigeria
Wärtsilä Marine and Power Services Nigeria
23 Oba Akinjobi Street
Ikeja GRA, Lagos
Nigeria
Tel. +234 907 808 0936 - Marine enquiry
+234 8057217049 - New Builds enquiry
+234 708 624 3992 - After Sales enquiry
E-mail: Sales/Services equiries WNG@Wartsila.com
Kenya
ABC Towers - 7A, ABC Place
Waiyaki Way
Nairobi
Tel. +254 20 7602 400 (Pilot)
E-mail: info.wea@wartsila.com
Senegal
Wärtsilä West Africa
Immeuble Le Thiargane 7ème étage, Mermoz Place OMVS
B.P. 21861 Dakar-Ponty, Dakar - Senegal
Tel + 221 33 865 41 00
Fax + 221 33 864 42 72
E-mail: West.africa@wartsila.com
Madagascar
Fort Dauphin (Taolagnaro)
QMM Madena, Fort Dauphin, 614
Madagascar
Tel. +261 20 224 3267
Fax: +261 20 224 3253
Cameroon
Wärtsilä Central Africa
Wärtsilä Base, Essengue
Douala, Cameroon
Tel +237 33 50 54 00
Fax +237 33 50 54 99
wcm@wartsila.com for general information
wcmsales@wartsila.com for commercial issues
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