A 58 MW gas-fired power plant supplied and constructed by the technology group Wärtsilä near Port Moresby, the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea, has been inaugurated by the Hon. James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea on 6 December 2019. The plant is the first ever utility-scale gas engine project in the country, and in addition to enhancing the reliability of the local electricity grid, it will make a notable contribution to easing the carbon footprint of Papua New Guinea’s energy generation.
The facility was built on an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) basis by Wärtsilä in partnership with Australia-based Clough Ltd, a provider of construction and asset support services. It is part of an infrastructure building programme being developed by NiuPower, a company established to focus on the development of power generation in the country. NiuPower is jointly owned by Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (Papua New Guinea’s national oil company) and Oil Search Limited.
Operating on six highly efficient, clean-burning Wärtsilä 34SG gas engines, the plant is providing a reliable source of baseload power for the local grid. The net capacity of 58MWe represents approximately 29% of the installed capacity of the Port Moresby System. Since no diesel fuel will be required, NiuPower anticipates that it will create annual savings of approximately 100 million Papua New Guinean kina (25.6 million euro).
Wärtsilä is responsible for the full operation and maintenance of the plant, thereby ensuring optimal performance at all times. This lifecycle solution has the benefit of remote monitoring from Wärtsilä Expertise Centres.
NiuPower’s CEO, Michael Uiari, commented: “This power plant is an extremely important addition to Papua New Guinea’s energy portfolio, and we are very pleased with the technology and services provided by Wärtsilä that will allow us to meet our economic and environmental targets for the project. We also appreciate the fact that the power plant was built according to the rather demanding time schedule, and again we thank both Wärtsilä and Clough for this.”
“Wärtsilä is proud to be part of this significant power infrastructure project. We are very pleased to have successfully delivered the high efficiency Port Moresby Power Station to NiuPower. Running on domestic natural gas, it provides low carbon energy, which reduces the country’s imports of diesel. Wärtsilä is leading the transition towards a renewable energy future, a central pillar of which is enabling plants to operate on environmentally sound fuels, and this project is a further example of this commitment,” commented Frederic Carron, Energy Business Director, Australasia, Wärtsilä Energy Business.
Wärtsilä’s operation and maintenance agreements are tailored to the needs of the plant owner to give real added value. They represent a key element of Wärtsilä’s Lifecycle solutions for the energy industry, which provide guaranteed operational availability and efficiency backed by expert advice on optimising the plant’s operations and maximising its uptime.
Caption text: Port Moresby Power Station being inaugurated by the Hon. James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Mr Peter Botten, Managing Director of Oil Search Limited and Mr Wapu Sonk, Managing Director of Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited.
Read more:
Wärtsilä’s project services
Wärtsilä Lifecycle solutions
Wärtsilä 34SG gas power plants
Earlier press releases:
Wärtsilä to secure baseload power supply to community and businesses in Papua New Guinea
For further information, please contact:
Suraj Narayan
Sales Director, Australia & Oceania
Wärtsilä Energy Business
Mob +61 409 717 325
suraj.narayan@wartsila.com
Mirja-Maija Santala
Manager, Marketing & Communications
Wärtsilä Energy Business
Mob: +358 400 793 827
mirja-maija.santala@wartsila.com
Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation, total efficiency and data analytics, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2018, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 5.2 billion with approximately 19,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
www.wartsila.com
Wärtsilä Energy Business in brief
Wärtsilä Energy Business is leading the transition towards a 100% renewable energy future. As an energy system integrator, we understand, design, build and serve optimal power systems for future generations. Wärtsilä’s solutions provide the needed flexibility to integrate renewables and secure power system reliability. Our offering comprises engine-based flexible power plants – including liquid gas systems – hybrid solar power plants, energy management systems and storage and integration solutions. We support our customers over the lifecycle of their installations with services that enable increased efficiency and guaranteed performance. Wärtsilä has 70 GW of installed power plant capacity in 177 countries around the world.
www.wartsila.com/energy
