Wärtsilä will supply an extension to the Goodman Energy Center in Kansas, owned by Midwest Energy Inc. The extension will increase the power plant’s generation capacity from 75 MW to 104 MW. The extension includes three Wärtsilä 34SG engines and is scheduled to be delivered in October 2015. The power plant, consisting of nine engines of the same type, was initially supplied by Wärtsilä in 2008.
“When we looked at electric loads, we saw a clear need for additional generation resources. This extension will enable the plant to accommodate the load growth, while remaining a reliable back-up generation source for the wind generation resources in the region”, said Bill Dowling, Midwest Energy’s Vice President of Engineering and Energy Supply.
Wärtsilä’s fast-reacting Smart Power Generation power plants have an extensive track record of balancing the output of wind farms in Kansas, Colorado and Texas. The capability of starting to full load in less than five minutes is crucial when following intermittent wind energy.
The Goodman Energy Center was recognized for its “consistent superior performance” by NAES Corporation in October 2014. NAES operates the power plant and several other electric generation facilities under contract for Midwest Energy. This marks the third straight year the plant has won the award. The power station has achieved consistent improvement in all of the NAES award criteria: availability factor, forced outage factors, number of unit trips and personnel turnover.
The power station also received a Top Plant award by POWER magazine in 2009. “The engine’s part-load efficiency and low overall heat rate rival those of a modern combustion turbine combined-cycle plant, and the multiple-unit configuration gives load dispatchers much more operating flexibility than a combined-cycle plant for meeting system demand,” the magazine wrote.
Wärtsilä’s total installed capacity in the United States is currently approximately 2400 MW.
Link to Midwest Energy news article on the NAES award
Link to Power magazine
Link to Wärtsilä’s press release in 2007
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Caption: After the extension, the Goodman Energy Center will consist of 12 Wärtsilä 34SG engines.
For further information please contact:
Gary Groninger
Business Development Manager
Wärtsilä Energy Solutions
Tel: +1 913 523 5126
gary.groninger@wartsila.com
Juka-Pekka Niemi
General Manager, Marketing
Wärtsilä Energy Solutions
Tel: +358 10 709 0000
jukka-pekka.niemi@wartsila.com
Wärtsilä Power Plants in brief
Wärtsilä Power Plants is a leading global supplier of flexible baseload power plants of up to 600 MW operating on various gaseous and liquid fuels. Our portfolio includes unique solutions for peaking, reserve and load-following power generation, as well as for balancing intermittent power production. Wärtsilä Power Plants also provides LNG terminals and distribution systems. As of 2014, Wärtsilä has 56 GW of installed power plant capacity in 170 countries around the world.
www.smartpowergeneration.com
Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximizes the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2013, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.7 billion with approximately 18,700 employees. The company has operations in more than 200 locations in nearly 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com
