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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 is supplying a 48 MW peaking power plant to support the growing use of renewables in the United Kingdom. The plant is under construction and is delivered under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with British energy services and solutions company Centrica Distributed Generation Ltd. The order was booked by Wärtsilä in June 2023.
When completed, the plant will provide essential grid balancing power generation alongside an existing 49 MW peaking plant in Brigg, Lincolnshire. This will create nearly 100 MW of fast response assets capable of meeting demand when renewable generation is insufficient. The new plant will operate with four Wärtsilä 31SG gas engines. The fast-starting Wärtsilä engines can reach full output within as little as 2,5 minutes with no minimum up or down time, thus making them ideal for compensating the intermittent supply from wind and solar power.
Chris O’Shea, group chief executive of Centrica, said: "Everything we do is aimed at ensuring our customers have the energy they need, when they need it, at the cheapest price possible. While the UK has made amazing progress towards a renewable energy future, gas plays an essential role in ensuring homes and businesses have access to a reliable electricity supply when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. So, we’re delighted to be expanding the Brigg energy park to help balance the increasing renewables on the grid."
The new plant is expected to be fully operational in early 2025. Once connected to the grid, the plant will have the capacity to power 20,000 homes for a full day when required. The high performance Wärtsilä engines with their best-in-class life cycle cost will provide stable and reliable power to the grid.
"We are extremely pleased to support Centrica in their efforts to decarbonise power production. This installation will help enable the use of clean renewable energy by providing the needed grid balancing. The Wärtsilä 31 engine platform is renowned for its high efficiency, and the engines are already able to run on a hydrogen blend. In the future our engines can be converted to run on sustainable fuels once they become widely available," commented Kenneth Engblom, Vice President Africa & Europe at Wärtsilä Energy.
Media contact for more information on this release:
Katri Pehkonen
Communications Manager
Wärtsilä Energy
Mob: +358 50 591 6180
katri.pehkonen@wartsila.com
Image caption: Wärtsilä is supplying a 48 MW peaking power plant to support the growing use of renewables in the United Kingdom.
© Centrica
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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