Wärtsilä's success in Brazil continues.
Wärtsilä has received an order for a power plant project, representing two plants on the same site, to be delivered to a Brazilian energy consortium. This latest order follows three others, also for Brazil, signed earlier this year. The four orders received by Wärtsilä in 2008 will, together with other Wärtsilä plants already in operation in the country, produce a combined generating capacity of more than 1500 MWe. To date, Wärtsilä has designed, undertaken and installed 16 power plants in Brazil.
The power plants, to be called GERAMAR 1 and 2, are to be located in Miranda do Norte, a city of 15,000 inhabitants in the Brazilian state of Maranhao. The order, valued at EUR 159 million, has been placed by Geradora de Energia do Maranhao, a consortium made up of Brazilian energy providers Grupo Servtec, Grupo Ligna and FIP Brasil Energia. Both Servtec and FIP Brasil Energia are major stakeholders in other Wärtsilä installations in Brazil.
The turnkey contract calls for a full Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) project consisting of two plants, each with 19 Wärtsilä 20V32 engines giving a total output of 331 MW. The plants will run on high viscosity heavy fuel oil (HFO). Construction will begin in early November 2008, and the plants are scheduled to be fully operational before the end of 2009. When completed, the site will supply electricity to the Miranda 2 sub-station owned by Eletronorte, which is part of the national electricity grid. Wärtsilä is currently negotiating a separate operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement with the customer. The remote location of the site means that considerable infrastructure construction will be necessary.
“Wärtsilä has been able to demonstrate its commitment and reliability as a partner with the previous GERA project, where Servtec and FIP Brasil Energia are the shareholders. Moreover, Wärtsilä proposed the best power plant solution for the project and has a proven track record in supplying power plants in Brazil on an EPC basis, within the given time frame,” says Marco Aurélio Palópoli, Managing Partner of Geramar.
In commenting on the award of this valuable contract, Robson Campos, Regional Director, Wärtsilä Power Plants in Brazil noted: “Our recent orders further strengthen Wärtsilä’s share of the energy supply in Brazil, and have put us in a very favourable position to further increase our future business volume in the region. The orders are testimony to the high efficiency of our products, the total power solution package that we can offer, and the support that we can provide locally. As our client base is growing, we have developed our support capabilities accordingly in order to be even closer to our customers. For example, we have recently expanded our Services workshop facilities in Manaus to be able to offer faster and more qualified services. The very good relationship we enjoy with our Brazilian customers is a key factor in our success in the region.”
Following an energy auction held by the Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (National Agency of Electrical Energy) in July 2007, the customer has been contracted to provide flexible power production for 36 distribution companies as stand-by power for hydro generation. Hydro power accounts for some 90 percent of the country’s electricity production. Since Brazil produces its own oil, domestic fuel can be used to cover the energy gap during these critical energy supply periods when there is not sufficient water for hydro generation. The Geramar plants are expected to be operational for approximately 2000 hours per year between December and April, when water reservoirs are low.
For further information, please contact:
Robson Campos
Regional Director, Power Plants
Wärtsilä Brasil Ltda.
Telefone: + 55 21 2223 2939
Fax: + 55 21 2233 5079
e-mail: robson.campos@wartsila.com
Maria Nystrand
Public Relations Manager, Power Plants
Wärtsilä Corporation
Direct tel: +358 10 709 1456
e-mail: maria.nystrand@wartsila.com
Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä enhances the business of its customers by providing them with complete lifecycle power solutions. When creating better and environmentally compatible technologies, Wärtsilä focuses on the marine and energy markets with products and solutions as well as services. Through innovative products and services, Wärtsilä sets out to be the most valued business partner of all its customers. This is achieved by the dedication of more than 17,000 professionals manning 160 Wärtsilä locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on The Nordic Exchange in Helsinki, Finland.
