Wartsila said it will supply the engines with auxiliaries for a 75 MW power plant being built in Termoli, on the Adriatic coast of Italy.
The plant has been contracted by energy utility Metaenergiaproduzione, and is under construction by FATA SpA, a member of the Danieli Group. The order with Wartsila was placed in April 2022, and booked as order intake in June.
The Wartsila solution provides efficient grid balancing, enabling the utility to participate in Italy’s capacity market designed to promote the use of renewable energy sources. The plant will be on call by Terna, the national transmission system operator, to supply energy on demand to compensate for fluctuations in supply from solar and wind sources. The Wartsila engines can reach full output within minutes of start-up.
“Italy plans to triple its solar and double its wind energy production by 2030, and the flexibility of the Wartsila engines, coupled with their experience in this specific segment, are key enablers for this ambition,” said Italo Ballestrelli, FATA Executive Vice President.
“Efficiency and flexibility are the pillars upon which decarbonised production can be established, and that is what we strive to provide,” said Kenneth Engblom, Vice President, Africa & Europe, Wartsila Energy.
Wartsila Energy will supply four Wartsila 50SG engines, plus auxiliaries, control panels, advisory services, the operators’ interface system, and it will manage commissioning.
Wartsila Energy said the engines will be operating on natural gas. Wartsila engines are ready to also operate on sustainable fuels in the future. Wartsila engines can use synthetic and carbon-neutral methane and methanol, as well as hydrogen blends. Sustainable fuels together with engines can serve energy storage needs for periods with persistently low wind or solar conditions.
The Wartsila equipment is scheduled for delivery in early 2023, and the plant is expected to become fully operational a few months later.
Wartsila has delivered 1,411 MW of power plant capacity to Italy, of which 709 MW are today covered by Wartsila long-term service agreements. Wartsila has a delivery centre in Trieste, and service offices in Genoa, Naples and Taranto.