Wärtsilä, a leading global supplier of decentralised power plant solutions, has been awarded an engineering and equipment contract relating to the extension of the Aksa Samsun power plant in Samsun, Turkey.
The Aksa Samsun power plant will be extended to incorporate the latest addition to Wärtsilä’s gas engine portfolio, the Wärtsilä 18V50SG engine. The engine has an electrical output of 18,321kW, making it the largest gas powered generating set in the world. This will be the very first installation of the Wärtsilä 18V50SG unit, which features the exceptionally high power plant efficiency rating of over 50% in combined cycle mode.
The scope of supply also includes the controls, automation and auxiliary equipment related to the fuel gas, charge air, cooling and exhaust gas systems.
The Aksa Samsun combined cycle plant, owned by AKSA ENERJI, currently operates using seven Wärtsilä 18V46 engines running on heavy fuel oil (HFO), six of which will be converted to Wärtsilä 18V46GD engines for gas-fired operation. When the Wärtsilä 18V50SG engine has been commissioned in 2011, the power plant will have a total electrical output of approximately 130MW in combined cycle mode, which will be fed to the national grid.
“This important order is further evidence of Wärtsilä’s strong reputation as a trustworthy and highly competent supplier of efficient power plant solutions. Furthermore, it highlights Wärtsilä’s technology leadership, and the high level of the company’s engineering expertise. In converting the Aksa Samsun facility from HFO to gas-fired operation, we are providing added environmental sustainability, while the efficiency level of the new Wärtsilä 50SG engine sets a new benchmark for the industry,” commented Christer Strandvall, regional director, west Europe, Wärtsilä Power Plants.
Wärtsilä already has a very strong presence in Turkey’s energy market, and expects to have delivered close to 3GW of power generating capacity by the end of 2011. Some 85% of these power plants will be running on natural gas.
The new Wärtsilä 18V50SG gas engine sets a new standard for power generation
The new Wärtsilä 18V50SG spark-ignited gas engine has been developed in response to the market need for larger gas engines to run power plants with outputs of up to 500MW. It has the same proven gas technology as the smaller Wärtsilä 34SG engine, with substantial improvements to maximise the power potential of the engine block, thereby increasing the output of the Wärtsilä spark-ignited series to more than 18MW per unit.
The efficiency of the Wärtsilä 50SG is the highest of any spark-ignited gas engine available today. The natural gas fuelled, lean-burn, medium-speed engine is a reliable, high-efficiency and low-pollution power source for baseload, intermediate peaking, and combined cycle power plants.
The Wärtsilä 18V50SG is a four-stroke, spark-ignited gas engine that works according to the Otto process and the lean burn principle. The engine has ported gas admission and a pre-chamber with a spark plug for ignition. The engine runs at 500rpm or 514rpm for 50Hz or 60Hz applications, and produces 18,810kW and 19,260kW of mechanical power respectively. At generator terminals, this corresponds to 18,321kWe and 18,759kWe of electrical power.
The Wärtsilä 50SG meets current and future requirements for overall cost of ownership with very high simple and combined cycle efficiency. It is designed for easy maintenance and many hours of maintenance-free operation.