Wärtsilä leads the transition towards a 100% renewable energy future. We help our partners to accelerate their decarbonisation journeys through our market-leading technologies and power system modelling expertise. These cover decarbonisation services, future-fuel enabled balancing power plants, hybrid solutions, energy storage and optimisation technology, including the GEMS Digital Energy Platform. Wärtsilä’s lifecycle services are designed to increase efficiency, promote reliability and guarantee operational performance. 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.
"Wärtsilä's solution has allowed us to respond to changes in the grid when the wind stops blowing, being able to keep the plant at peak efficiency at all times thanks to the ability to dispatch the units in increments that fit our load."
-John Packard, Manager of Generation, STEC
THE WIND ENABLER CONQUERS THE LONE STAR STATE
The new energy landscape of the 21st century calls for cleaner, more sustainable energy. Texas has responded to the challenge by installing more than 12 GW of wind power, more than any other US state. However, wind power is as unpredictable as it is green.
South Texas Electric Cooperative decided to address the unpredictability of wind power head on. The key piece of their master plan was a state-of-the-art, gas fired, 203 MW Wärtsilä 34 grid stability plant, officially named the Pearsall Power Plant but widely known in the community as The Wind Enabler.
This backbone of the system is capable of reaching full output in eight minutes, providing 25% power in just two minutes. Icing on the cake is provided in the form of ancillary services, like black start capability and reserve power, which Pearsall can easily provide and STEC can sell on the correspondent market at a significant profit.
| Type | Wärtsilä 34SG gas grid stability |
| Operating mode | Peak load / standby & emergency |
| Gensets | 24x W20V34SG |
| Total output | 203MW |
| Fuel | Natural gas |
| Scope | EEQ (Engineering & Equipment) |
| Delivered | 2009 |
If you want to know more about the Pearsall project, please contact
Dan Shelledy
Business Development Manager
Wärtsilä Power Plants
+1 281 536 1444
