A consortium comprising Mitsubishi Power Americas and CONSAG Engenharia has secured an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the Portocem Thermoelectric power plant in Brazil (UTE Portocem).
The contract was awarded by Portocem Geração de Energia (Portocem), and New Fortress Energy (NFE), an integrated gas-to-power energy infrastructure company.
Under the EPC contract, Mitsubishi Power will supply four M501JAC-enhanced air-cooled gas turbines to operate in a simple cycle at UTE Portocem.
CONSAG will provide the remaining plant, utilities, civil works, assembly, and commissioning of the plant, along with the implementation of the transmission line and substation.
Mitsubishi Power Americas LATAM commercial and regional leader senior vice president Tim Shore said: “The UTE Portocem project is yet another example of how the Brazilian power generation sector is recognising the need for advanced, cleaner power generation technology to meet the needs of a changing market.
“At Mitsubishi Power, we have the technology to support this transition and we thank Portocem Geração de Energia S.A. for choosing us for this important project.”
Through the EPC contract, the consortium will help deliver 1.6GW of firm, dispatchable power capacity at UTE Portocem, which will become the largest peaking power plant in Brazil.
The project will provide reliable energy to the national grid in Brazil, supplying much-needed additional capacity to support the existing reliance on hydropower.
UTE Portocem, backed by a 15-year capacity reserve contract, received full regulatory approval in March 2024.
It marks Mitsubishi Power’s third advanced technology heavy-duty gas turbine project in Brazil in 5 years for a total of around 2.6GW of gas turbine capacity.
The project is expected to begin commercial operation in 2026, with the construction of the thermal power plant already in progress.
Furthermore, NFE has recently completed the construction and commissioning of the Barcarena LNG terminal which will supply LNG to more than 2.2GWs of capacity in Para, Brazil.
