The technology group Wärtsilä will convert a Brazilian power plant to 100 percent natural gas operation, while at the same time increasing its output from 85 MW to 92 MW. The conversion will reduce the plant’s operational costs, and lessen its environmental impact. The contract with Companhia Energética Manauara is for the Manauara power plant in Manaus, Brazil, and was signed in July 2020. The power plant will supply energy to the national grid.The conversion will involve converting the existing five Wärtsilä 46GD dual-fuel combustion engines to five Wärtsilä 50SG gas fueled engines, along with the required common system upgrades. The improved plant performance will raise its overall competitiveness. In addition to the conversion, the two companies have renewed an operation and maintenance agreement for ten years. The service agreement has power plant performance guarantees related to heat rate, electrical capacity, lube oil consumption, spare parts consumption and plant availability.
“Our commitment to environmental sustainability is reflected in this conversion project, and we are proud to be reducing our carbon footprint. Converting the engines to run on gas meets the company's concerns about generating power with the least possible environmental impact. At the same time, we will be reducing our costs and improving our economic performance. The conversion will contribute to reducing electricity costs for all Brazilians, as it will eliminate the consumption of heavy fuel oil (OCA1) and the corresponding refund by the national Fuel Consumption Account (CCC),” says Bruno Menezes, Plant Director, Companhia Energética Manauara. “We have trusted Wärtsilä with our operations for many years, so it wasn’t difficult to extend this successful partnership for a further ten years.”
Adriano Marcolino, Business Development Manager at Wärtsilä Energy commented: “This project crowns a long-term and cooperative relationship developed with Manauara over the past 15 years. With this gas conversion project we expect to support the customer’s business extension prospects, while also developing our services for gas engines.”
The use of natural gas fuel will reduce the plant’s environmental footprint by approximately 10 percent, representing some 35,000 Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (MTCDE)/year. This is the equivalent of the pollution from some 7600 cars.
The conversion is scheduled to be fully completed in the beginning of 2022. Wärtsilä has earlier successfully completed a number of gas conversion projects involving more than 100 Wärtsilä gas engines and totaling more than 1.2 GW in output.
Image caption: Rendering of Wärtsilä 50SG gensets in an engine hall
© Wärtsilä Corporation
Read more:
Wärtsilä Power plant gas conversion
Wärtsilä gas conversions in combination with a service agreement
Wärtsilä Lifecycle solutions
For more information, please contact:
Adriano Marcolino
Business Development Manager, Services Projects
Wärtsilä Energy
Mob. +55 92 98818-3139
adriano.marcolino@wartsila.com
Mirja-Maija Santala
Manager, Marketing & Communications
Wärtsilä Energy
Mob: +358 400 793 827
mirja-maija.santala@wartsila.com
All Wärtsilä releases are available at https://www.wartsila.com/media/news-releases and at http://news.cision.com/wartsila-corporation where also the images can be downloaded.
Wärtsilä Energy in brief
Wärtsilä Energy leads the transition towards a 100% renewable energy future. We help our customers unlock the value of the energy transition by optimising their energy systems and future-proofing their assets. Our offering comprises flexible power plants, energy management systems, and storage, as well as lifecycle services that ensure increased efficiency and guaranteed performance. Wärtsilä has delivered 72 GW of power plant capacity in 180 countries around the world.
https://www.wartsila.com/energy/
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 2019, 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.
https://www.wartsila.com/
