Wärtsilä signs service agreement for Mozambique power plant

Wärtsilä, a leading global supplier of flexible and efficient power plant solutions and services, has signed an Operations & Maintenance (O&M) agreement with Central Termica de Ressano Garcia, owned by Sasol New Energy from South Africa and the Mozambique state utility, Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM). The three year agreement was signed in April 2013 and covers the company’s gas engine power plant in Ressano Garcia, Mozambique.
 
The Central Termica de Ressano Garcia plant will be powered by a total of 18 Wärtsilä 34SG engines running on natural gas, with the gas being fed from the Pande and Temane gas fields. It will be the largest power plant running exclusively on gas engines to be installed in Mozambique, and the second largest on the entire African continent. The power plant is scheduled for completion by May 2014, and the electricity produced will be sold to EDM.
 
"Our extensive experience and deep know-how in the O&M field, in combination with the efficiency and reliability of the Wärtsilä equipment, will be of great value in ensuring the success of this important project. The Central Termica de Ressano Garcia gas engine power plant is designed with high operating efficiency, low generating costs, and a minimal carbon footprint in mind. These are all areas where Wärtsilä excels. Wärtsilä’s presence in southern Africa is becoming increasingly significant, and is likely to strengthen further as the use of natural gas fuel continues to be developed," says A.P.Singh, General Manager, Wärtsilä Solutions Support Services, South Europe & Africa.
 
By taking responsibility for operating and maintaining this power plant, Wärtsilä will implement its global best practices to ensure that it delivers the design output with maximum efficiency and minimal environmental impact. Local employees of Central Termica de Ressano Garcia will also be trained as part of this agreement.
 
Once completed, the power plant will significantly contribute to Mozambique’s power generating infrastructure, and will help meet the country’s growing demand for electricity. Furthermore, because of its low emissions this project will be a major advance in developing low carbon electricity generation in the region.
 
Wärtsilä is an experienced operator, with a proven track record in operation and maintenance services. Globally, more than 17 GW of generating capacity in both marine and land based installations – a total of 544 installations – is covered by Wärtsilä’s asset management and other service agreements. 28 such agreements are in Africa.The Central Termica de Ressano Garcia agreement is Wärtsilä’s first O&M agreement in the Republic of Mozambique.
 
An Operations and Maintenance agreement is a comprehensive form of asset management. Typically, O&M agreements can be tailored to cover the entire scope of operational, management, and maintenance services, as well as providing performance guarantees for the installation. Wärtsilä undertakes all aspects of operating and maintaining the power plant, including labour, spare parts, maintenance, administration, human resource services, the training of local employees, technical support, logistics management and security.