Wärtsilä Corporation has been awarded a EUR 38 million contract in September 2007 by AzerEnerji, the state-owned Azerbaijan electricity company, for a 104 MWe combined heat and power (CHP) plant to be located at Guba, 165 km north west of the capital Baku.
Wärtsilä will equip the Guba CHP plant with twelve Wärtsilä 20V34SG generating sets, having a total electrical output of 104 MWe. The electricity will be supplied to the national grid, while the waste heat will be used to provide heating for 100 hectares of new greenhouses being built in the region. The plant will have an overall efficiency of about 70%. The spark-ignited Wärtsilä 34SG gas engines will burn natural gas from the Baku gas fields.
The plant is due to be completed by the end of 2008, and fully operational by January 2009. Wärtsilä has been contracted to design the CHP plant, supply the equipment, and to supervise the installation work and operations for a period of two years.
Guba is an old town with a university and a 16th century fortress. Recently a large, modern sport complex has been built in Guba, with the aim of developing sports in Azerbaijan. Guba is also the centre for an agricultural region with apple orchards in particular, being abundant. The whole region is benefiting greatly from the current, on-going development of the infrastructure and from its upgrading of energy supply.
The Guba CHP plant is the seventh AzerEnerji plant contracted with Wärtsilä. In 2005, AzerEnerji ordered five power plants with a combined output of 450 MWe, all based on multiple Wärtsilä 34SG gas-engined generating sets. Installation of these plants, located at Astara, Baku, Khachmaz, Nakhchivan and Sheki, was completed by the end of 2006. In October 2006, Wärtsilä was awarded a further contract for 18 Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel generating sets to be installed in a 300 MWe power station at Sangachal. This plant is due for completion in November 2008.
AzerEnerji’s selection of Wärtsilä engine powered plants, which can be built and brought on-line rapidly, benefits both the company and its customers through quick supply of generating capacity, as well as from the plants’ stability, reliability, and a high overall economy of electricity supply.
The high efficiency of the new Wärtsilä power plants, together with the use of natural gas, result in very low emissions per kWh generated. In addition, this decentralized solution avoids excessive transmission and distribution losses.
Moreover, the reliability and availability of Wärtsilä’s multi-unit power plants compared to alternative concepts, is well established. Consequently, the risk for electricity-supply system instabilities and blackouts due to failure is close to zero.
Wärtsilä in brief:
Wärtsilä enhances the business of its customers by providing them with complete lifecycle power solutions. When creating better and environmentally compatible technologies, Wärtsilä focuses on the marine and energy markets with products and solutions as well as services. Through innovative products and services, Wärtsilä sets out to be the most valued business partner of all its customers. This is achieved by the dedication of more than 15,000 professionals manning 130 Wärtsilä locations in close to 70 countries around the world.
For further information, please contact:
Maria Nystrand
Public Relations Manager, Power Plants
Wärtsilä Corporation
Direct tel: +358 10 709 1456
Direct fax: +358 10 709 1425
e-mail: maria.nystrand@wartsila.com
Internet: www.wartsila.com
