Africa's largest gas power plant, supplied by Wärtsilä, to be inaugurated today
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Wärtsilä Corporation, Press release, 10 July 2013 at 9 am EET
The largest power plant running exclusively on gas engines on the African
continent, and the first of its kind ever in the Republic of South Africa, is to
be inaugurated today. The complete turnkey project package at a demanding
altitude of 1,500 metres was supplied by Wärtsilä on a fast-track basis with
performance guarantees.
Today, the inauguration of the Sasol Gas Engine Power Plant, located in
Sasolburg, south of Johannesburg in South Africa, takes place with a ceremony at
the plant site. Wärtsilä has been responsible for the engineering, procurement,
construction and project management of the new power plant, which is powered by
18 Wärtsilä 34SG generating sets running on natural gas with an operating
capacity of 140 MW. It is the largest operational power plant running
exclusively on gas engines on the African continent, and the first of its kind
ever in the Republic of South Africa. The electricity produced by the plant will
be used by Sasol's chemical factory next to the plant, with about half of the
production being fed to the national grid.
"This plant is a significant milestone for Sasol, as we begin to ease our load
on the national grid and contribute to our own energy efficiency targets. We are
proud of this new facility which demonstrates how we can add versatility to
natural gas," says Lean Strauss, Sasol Senior Group Executive, International
Energy, New Business Development and Technology.
Tony van Velzen, Regional Director, Africa, Wärtsilä Power Plants adds: "This
inauguration marks a significant step forward for power generation based on gas
fuel. Never before has a power plant of this size running exclusively on gas
engines been installed on the African continent, and we see this as an important
achievement on the road to cleaner and more efficient electricity production. We
are proud to have worked closely with Sasol to develop this highly efficient and
environmentally sustainable facility."
"This is truly a great achievement. Our team completed the first major power
plant project in South Africa ahead of schedule. Our ability to conform with the
stringent health, safety and environment requirements was one of the success
factors in achieving the project objectives," says Antti Kämi, Vice President,
Project Management, Wärtsilä Power Plants.
Despite the high altitude (1,500 metres) of the Sasolburg plant, the Wärtsilä
gas engines are able to operate with an extremely high level of efficiency.
Furthermore, the closed-loop cooling system used by Wärtsilä imposes a minimal
demand for water, which is an important factor in areas such as this where water
resources are limited.
The plant is operated and maintained by Wärtsilä under a 3-year agreement. By
taking responsibility for operating and maintaining the power plant, Wärtsilä
implements its global best practices to ensure that it delivers the design
output with maximum efficiency. Local employees of Sasol New Energy have also
been trained as part of this agreement.
Wärtsilä's presence in southern Africa is becoming increasingly significant, and
is likely to strengthen further as the use of natural gas as fuel continues to
be developed. In December 2012, Wärtsilä signed a contract to engineer, supply
and install a major gas fuelled power plant in Mozambique. The power plant is
scheduled for completion by May 2014.
To date, Wärtsilä has delivered 470 power plants to Africa with a total output
of 5,000 MW. Globally, Wärtsilä has delivered almost 4,700 power plants in 169
countries with a total generating capacity of close to 54 GW.
Link to image
Caption: The Sasol Gas Engine Power Plant, supplied by Wärtsilä, is located in
Sasolburg, south of Johannesburg in South Africa.
Press release 4 July 2011:
Wärtsilä to supply Africa's largest purely gas fuelled combustion engine power
plant
Press release 14 May 2012:
Wärtsilä signs service agreement with Sasol's gas engine power plant in South
Africa
For further information, please contact:
Christophe Fleurence
Managing Director
Wärtsilä South Africa
Tel: +27 83 4488 353
christophe.fleurence(at)wartsila.com
Tuula Franck
Senior Manager, Media and Stakeholder Relations
Wärtsilä Corporation
Tel: +358 400 267 555
tuula.franck(at)wartsila.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 maximises the environmental and economic performance of the
vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2012, Wärtsilä's net sales
totalled EUR 4.7 billion with approximately 18,900 employees. The company has
operations in nearly 170 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is
listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com
The Sasol Gas Engine Power Plant in Sasolburg:
http://hugin.info/131481/R/1715436/570032.jpg
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Wärtsilä Oyj Abp via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1715436]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 10.07.2013 - 08:00 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 276958
Anzahl Zeichen: 6118
contact information:
Town:
Helsinki
Kategorie:
Business News
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 216 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"Africa's largest gas power plant, supplied by Wärtsilä, to be inaugurated today"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
