Wärtsilä scores LNG power plant order in Curaçao

The technology group Wärtsilä was awarded the contract to supply a 39 MW power plant to Aqualectra, the utility company of Curaçao.

The new plant will operate on four Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines running initially on heavy fuel oil (HFO), but switching to liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel at a later date, the Finnish company said on Wednesday.

The turnkey project will provide additional generating capacity and provide Aqualectra with the fast-starting capacity and flexibility needed to add more wind power capacity to the island’s system. The company already has more than 46 MW of installed generating capacity from wind energy and plans to add more renewable energy generation in the near future.

“The reality is, we need more generating capacity to meet our growing demand for energy. And, given the focus we have put on increasing our renewable capacity, we are conscious of the fact that the output from wind power and solar are inevitably intermittent. Hence our requirement for a plant that can start quickly and ramp up to full output in a matter of minutes,” said Darick Jonis, acting CEO of Aqualectra.

The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled to be delivered in mid-2018, and the plant is expected to be fully operational in November of that year.