Wärtsilä has been awarded five power plant projects, which will support development of the national grid in Argentina.
Contracts for three power plants, totalling EUR 78 million, have been signed with Industrias J.F.Secco S.A. (Secco) and are included in Wärtsilä’s order book for the second quarter of 2016. Additionally, Wärtsilä has been awarded two projects with two other Argentinian independent power producers, which are expected to be included in Wärtsilä’s order book in the third quarter of 2016. The combined output of all five plants will be 382MW. The total value of these orders is estimated to be approximately EUR 150 million.
The three power plants for Secco, with a total output of 192MW, are all based on Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines. The plants will be run primarily on gas and heavy fuel oil will be used as the back-up fuel. Thirteen Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines are included in the deliveries for two of the plants, while four Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines will power the third plant. All three locations are in the Santa Fe province in central Argentina. The equipment is scheduled to be delivered in early 2017. The plants will be fully operational during the second half of 2017. The contract includes extended engineering and equipment (EEQ).
These projects stem from a tender issued by CAMMESA, the national grid system operator, on behalf of the Ministry of Energy in Argentina. The Ministry aims to further develop and strengthen the national grid in order to supply Argentina’s population and industry with reliable power. Natural gas, the primary fuel for power plants, is not available for several months during the year, thus making the highly efficient Wärtsilä dual-fuel technology a very suitable solution. It is also particularly competitive, due to its ability to employ heavy fuel oil as a backup at a much lower cost than light fuel oil. The Wärtsilä plants will feed power into Argentina’s national grid under a PPA (power purchase agreement) between Secco and the government of Argentina.
"We need dual-fuel technology to cope with the varying supply of natural gas here in Argentina. Wärtsilä’s technology and the technical support that they have provided were the key reasons why we chose to work with Wärtsilä," says Osvaldo C. Calvo, International Business Manager, Industrias J.F.Secco S.A.
"We are very happy to be part of strengthening the national grid in Argentina. These plants, totalling 382 MW in output, will increase five-fold Wärtsilä’s installed capacity in Argentina," says Alberto Fernandez, Regional Director, Wärtsilä Energy Solutions.