Wison’s 300MW FSRP Gets AiP from Lloyd’s Register

UK-based maritime classification society Lloyd’s Register (LR) has awarded an approval in principle (AiP) to Wison Offshore & Marine (Wison) with respect to its 300MW floating storage, regasification, and power generation barge (FSRP) concept design.

Image Courtesy: Lloyd's Register

The AiP was announced on September 19 during a presentation at Gastech – an exhibition and conference for the global gas, LNG and energy industries held on September 17-20 in Barcelona, Spain.

FSRPs are a relatively new design concept and the market is expected to expand in coming years. Essentially, a floating LNG power plant, the FSRP receives LNG from ships and stores it within its own tanks below deck, before regasifying the LNG and using it to fuel an onboard power plant. In this new design, the power plant has a capacity of 300MW.

LR, Wison and Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) are working together in developing this 300MW FSRP unit. It will be designed, constructed and built to supply 300MW electrical power, using LNG as fuel. The FSRP will be barge-type moored at a jetty or near-shore.

According to Wison, the FSRP has been developed to produce power starting as low as 7 cents per kWh. With a total storage capacity of 170,000 cbm in GTT membrane cargo tanks, it can receive full cargoes, keeping the cost of LNG supply low. It features a high-efficiency CCGT power plant, available with an output of 150 – 450MW.

The facility is designed for near-shore deployment with a minimal water depth of 12m. LNG will be loaded through a ship-to-ship transfer and regasified, feeding the gas turbines. Waste heat from the turbines is recovered to generate steam, which in turn feeds the steam turbine generator. Electric power is stepped up to high voltage before transmission to shore.

A joint development project (JDP) agreement between LR, Wison and GTT was also signed on September 19. This includes the undertaking of further work for example, more detailed design reviews, support for the preparation of Wison to build GTT membrane type LNG tanks as well as possible additional items like risk assessments.

“Our integrated LNG-to-power solution is a response to market demand for affordable power sources with a short development schedule (…) Together with Lloyd’s Register, GTT and other key technology suppliers we will continue to mature and refine our product. High efficiency LNG-fuelled floating power plants offer a unique set of advantages over other power solutions,” Maarten Spilker, Wison Solutions Director, said.