The technology group Wärtsilä has been awarded an order to deliver the engines for a 128 MW power plant project being developed by WEC Energy Group in the USA. The order was booked to Wärtsilä’s order intake in April 2022.
The delivery comprises seven Wärtsilä 50SG gas engines operating with natural gas fuel. They will be part of a modern, low carbon natural gas energy facility that will serve customers of WEC Energy Group utilities We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service in Wisconsin, USA. The fast-starting and stopping Wärtsilä engines have the flexibility to rapidly respond to the inherent fluctuations from solar and wind, and will thus provide the necessary grid balancing for a reliable power supply for Wisconsin’s electric grid.
“WEC Energy Group is a company with unmatched operational expertise. They know it’s all about reliability, flexibility, and efficiency, and we are proud to have been chosen as their engine supplier for the third time,” added Jon Rodriguez, Director, Engine power plants, Wärtsilä Energy in North America. “Wärtsilä is helping to create a carbon neutral world for electricity providers and the Wärtsilä 50SG engine is a hallmark of that future-proof design. With the ability to convert the engine to run on various fuels including hydrogen blends, the Wärtsilä 50SG will be able to support the reliability and flexibility demands of our client now and well into the future.”
Delivery of the Wärtsilä engines will take place in October 2022, and the commissioning of the plant is scheduled for March 2023. WEC Energy Group has earlier ordered Wärtsilä engines for two other power plant projects, with total output of 188 MW.
WEC Energy Group is one of the United States premier energy companies, serving 4.6 million customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. They plan to exit coal by 2035, and intend to retire 1600 MW of older, less efficient fossil-fuelled generation by 2025. A total of USD 5.4 billion is allocated to new investments in wind, solar, and battery storage.
With the new order included, Wärtsilä will have an installed base of more than 3,800 MW in the United States.
