Wärtsilä To Supply A 92 MW Power Plant To Argentina

Wärtsilä will supply a 92 MW gas-fired baseload power plant to Sullair Argentina. The equipment delivery project includes Wärtsilä 50SG engines running on natural gas. The value of the order is approximately EUR 30 million. The project was signed in July and it is included in Wärtsilä's order book in the third quarter of 2016. The order is one of five contracts that Wärtsilä was recently awarded in Argentina and which were announced in a stock exchange release in July.

Argentina is suffering from energy shortage due to a history of widespread subsidies that have distorted the energy price and regulations that have complicated investments in power generation and distribution. Now the government seeks to remedy the issue by investing heavily in new capacity, focusing especially on increasing efficiency and adding renewable energy.

Sullair Argentina was awarded the Caimancito power plant project in the CAMMESA governmental bid in Argentina. They selected Wärtsilä as their equipment supplier because of Wärtsilä's efficiency and fast delivery time.

"This is a complicated project but we trust in Wärtsilä's project management capabilities and the technical expertise they can provide. The government was originally tendering for dual-fuel engines but we offered an alternative solution with Wärtsilä's gas engines and we won. Wärtsilä had engines in stock and they promised that the plant will be operational within a year," says Luis Vago, Director of Operations at Sullair.

The Caimacinto plant will be situated in the north west of Argentina and reinforce the grid in the area. Due to the long distances and the weight and height constraints along the road, Wärtsilä's engines will be transported to the site in parts and be reassembled there. The area where the plant will be situated is hot and rainy which poses additional challenges on the project team.

"The delivery time was key to our customer and we have long expertise in doing projects in challenging areas. We are very happy to work together with Sullair Argentina and we are looking forward to do more projects together in the future," says Gaston Giani, Business Development manager at Wärtsilä.

The equipment for the Caimancito power plant is expected to be delivered during 2016 and the plant will be fully operational in June 2017.

About Wärtsilä Energy Solutions
Wärtsilä Energy Solutions is a leading global supplier of ultra-flexible power plants of up to 600 MW operating on various gaseous and liquid fuels. Our portfolio includes unique solutions for baseload, peaking, reserve and load-following power generation, as well as for balancing intermittent renewable energy. Wärtsilä Energy Solutions also provides utility-scale solar PV power plants, as well as LNG terminals and distribution systems. As of 2016, Wärtsilä has 60 GW of installed power plant capacity in 176 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.smartpowergeneration.com.

About Wärtsilä
Wärtsilä is a global leader in advanced technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers.

In 2015, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 5 billion with approximately 18,800 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 70 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.wartsila.com.