Wärtsilä also operates and maintains the facility under a three-year operation and maintenance (O&M) agreement. The order for the natural gas fuelled plant was placed in October last year by Pemcorp, a Mexico-based independent power producer, on behalf of owners, Arroyo Energy Investors.
The plant features seven of Wärtsilä’s 50SG gas-fuelled engines, each with an output of 18.7MW.
The facility is located close to the city of Monterrey and it will supply electricity to a major Asian automobile factory under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA). Operations at the facility began in September this year.
Arroyo Energy Investors principal Matthew Ginzberg said: “Because of our PPA obligations, it was essential to have extremely fast response, both in time-to-market and in operations in order to provide high-quality power to our customer. Wärtsilä succeeded in supplying and constructing the plant in just 11 months, which was an impressive feat.
“Furthermore, the efficiency, reliability, and flexibility of the Wärtsilä engines, backed by the operations, maintenance, and performance agreements, provide the long-term predictability and reliability required by international capital markets investors. Given this experience, Arroyo will look to deploy Wärtsilä technology elsewhere in the region.”
The O&M agreement between Wärtsilä and Pemcorp, was signed in September and includes 14 year Guaranteed Asset Performance Agreement. Furthermore, Wärtsilä will provide a Recovery Guarantee for the generator sets to ensure a rapid recovery process, if an unforeseen event interrupts the power generation.
Wärtsilä Energy Solutions Latin America North and the Caribbean regional director Sampo Suvisaari said: “The high reliability offered by our multi-unit power plant solution, combined with high simple-cycle efficiency, were the key factors in our being awarded this contract.
“The value proposition that we are able to provide represents a complete package. It combines our equipment, procurement, and construction (EPC) capabilities with the backing of O&M service, to give a winning format.”
In October, Wärtsilä handed over two 50MW gas engine plants to British energy and services company Centrica for its sites in Brigg and Peterborough in the UK.
The Finnish company had won the EPC contracts for the two plants, which will provide grid stability and will generate enough electricity to be supplied to 100,000 homes.
