The Port Westward Unit 2 power plant, supplied by Wärtsilä for Portland General Electric (PGE), reached commercial operation near Clatskanie, Oregon on December 30, 2014. The 220 MW Smart Power Generation plant is designed to balance wind and solar energy, as well as provide load-following and peaking services.
“With the growing amount of variable renewable power coming online, this type of flexible resource is essential in helping us continue to provide reliable service to our customers in an increasingly complex environment,” said Jim Piro, PGE’s president and CEO.
The power station includes 12 Wärtsilä 50SG engines, running on natural gas. With an output of 18 MW, the Wärtsilä 50SG is the largest gas engine in the world. Wärtsilä’s contract with PGE includes a long-term maintenance agreement of ten years.
Fast-reacting capacity is needed to balance sudden fluctuations in the renewable energy supply in real-time. Wärtsilä’s power plants have an extensive track record of such operation in Kansas, Colorado and Texas. Smart Power Generation technology helps utilities reach their targets for renewable energy. Agile generation not only supports, but enables more wind and solar power.
“Port Westward Unit 2’s advanced technology and unique configuration allows PGE to ramp the plant up to full load in less than 10 minutes,” said Rick Tetzloff, PGE’s project manager for the new plant. “This flexibility allows us to adjust quickly when renewable energy – like wind and solar – rise and fall with natural variability. And it also means that on peak demand days, our customers benefit from increased reliability.”
PGE’s latest large-scale wind project went online in Washington State in December. The Tucannon River Wind farm consists of 116 wind turbines with capacity of 267 megawatts. The new wind farm helped PGE meet the 2015 goal for Oregon’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, which calls for PGE to supply 15 percent of the electricity used by its customers from qualified renewable resources by 2015 and 25 percent by 2025.
Wärtsilä’s total installed capacity in the United States is approximately 2400 MW.
Download photo: The Tucannon River Wind Farm
Caption: The Tucannon River Wind Farm went online simultaneously with the new wind-integrating power plant supplied by Wärtsilä.
Download photo: Engine room of the Port Westward Unit 2 power plant
Caption: The new wind-balancing power plant includes 12 fast-starting Wärtsilä 50SG engines.
Media resources (courtesy of PGE):
B-roll video
Photography
Plant construction time-lapse video
Link to Wärtsilä’s press release of February 4, 2013
For further information please contact:
Wayne Elmore
Regional Director
Wärtsilä Energy Solutions
Tel: +1 281 233 6213
wayne.elmore@wartsila.com
Jukka-Pekka Niemi
General Manager, Marketing
Wärtsilä Energy Solutions
Tel: +358 10 709 0000
jukka-pekka.niemi@wartsila.com
Wärtsilä Power Plants in brief
Wärtsilä Power Plants is a leading global supplier of flexible baseload power plants of up to 600 MW operating on various gaseous and liquid fuels. Our portfolio includes unique solutions for peaking, reserve and load-following power generation, as well as for balancing intermittent power production. Wärtsilä Power Plants also provides LNG terminals and distribution systems. As of 2014, Wärtsilä has 56 GW of installed power plant capacity in 170 countries around the world.
www.smartpowergeneration.com
Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximizes the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2013, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.7 billion with approximately 18,700 employees. The company has operations in more than 200 locations in nearly 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
