Wärtsilä engines again the choice for major Texas utility power plant project
17 Abril 2024 - 8:38AM
Technology group Wärtsilä has again been awarded a major contract
by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), a river authority
based in Austin, Texas, that provides wholesale power to the Texas
power grid. Following an order by LCRA for ten Wärtsilä engines
generating an output of approximately 190 MW in 2022, the new order
for a further ten Wärtsilä 50SG engines will double the earlier
output. The order was booked by Wärtsilä in March 2024.
The new Timmerman Power Plant, located near Maxwell, Texas, will
supply additional capacity needed to support LCRA's customers and
support the Texas power grid and ERCOT, the Texas electrical grid
operator. ERCOT supplies power to more than 26 million customers,
or about 90 percent of the state's electric load. The additional
capacity will help alleviate supply challenges created by load
growth and the retirement of ageing plants in Texas. Furthermore,
the fast-starting Wärtsilä engines will provide dispatchable power
to balance the increasing amount of intermittent renewables
introduced into the system. There is a very high penetration of
renewables installed and growing rapidly in ERCOT.
“We appreciate Wärtsilä’s track record in supplying efficient
and reliable engines,” said Randa Stephenson, LCRA executive vice
president and chief operating officer of Wholesale Power. “The
flexibility of the Wärtsilä engines is particularly important in
providing the rapid ramp-up of power needed for our new peaker
plant, which will be called upon to quickly come online when other
generation is not available to meet the power demand in our growing
state.”
LCRA’s new plant will operate on natural gas and will have two
units, each powered by 10 Wärtsilä’ engines. The first unit is
expected to come online in 2025, with the second unit scheduled to
be completed in 2026. Together, the units will be able to provide
power for about 100,000 homes during periods of peak demand.
The Wärtsilä 50SG engine consumes little to no water, which is
an important feature in Texas, an area often affected by
drought.
“We are extremely pleased to have been awarded this valuable
follow-up order. It emphasizes the added value that our engine
technology offers as the energy sector transitions to greater
efficiency and increased sustainability. We appreciate LCRA for
selecting flexible solutions as Texas experiences increased power
demand that cannot be adequately served by an ageing fleet of
inflexible power plants,” said Risto Paldanius, Vice President,
Americas at Wärtsilä Energy.
Wärtsilä has installed over 70 engine power plants, as well as
29 energy storage facilities in the U.S. since 1981. These
installations have a total combined capacity of more than 6.9
GW.
Media contact for more information on this release:
Elena BrennanDirector of Media & Stakeholder RelationsPiper
CommunicationsMob: +1 269 377
4983elena@piper-communications.com
Katri PehkonenCommunications ManagerWärtsilä EnergyMob: +358 50
591 6180katri.pehkonen@wartsila.com
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Wärtsilä Energy in briefWärtsilä Energy 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
Energy’s lifecycle services are designed to increase efficiency,
promote reliability and guarantee operational performance. Our
track record comprises 79 GW of power plant capacity and 125 energy
storage systems delivered to 180 countries around the
world.www.wartsila.com/energy
Wärtsilä in briefWärtsilä is a global leader in
innovative technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and
energy markets. We emphasise innovation in sustainable technology
and services to help our customers continuously improve
environmental and economic performance. Our dedicated and
passionate team of 17,800 professionals in more than 280 locations
in 79 countries shape the decarbonisation transformation of our
industries across the globe. In 2023, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled
EUR 6.0 billion. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq
Helsinki.www.wartsila.com
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