Wärtsilä to supply equipment for 170 MW power plant in Texas, USA
Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply a 170 MW gas-fired power plant to be installed in Antelope Station, located near Abernathy, Texas, USA. The power plant is to be located close to significant wind farm generation, and will serve to stabilise the grid when the output from the wind farms changeunexpectedly because of weather changes.
The contract is signed with Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc. (GSEC), a consumer-owned public utility providing power to 16 member distribution cooperatives that serve 208,000 retail consumers. The power plant is expected to achieve commercial operation in early 2011.
A primary reason for selecting the Wärtsilä technology is its "quick start" capability. The engines are designed to achieve full operation in less than 10 minutes, whereas traditional gas-fired generation can take from one to four hours to start.
Wind generation output varies according to wind speed. Reductions in wind generation output must be offset immediately by a corresponding increase in output from other generators.
With this new order, Wärtsilä has close to 1000 MW of flexible power plant capacity, either installed or on order, in the USA.
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