CHP project defends naval base from high energy costs

MWM distributor Edina has won the contract to deliver a three-engine CHP plant to Portsmouth Naval Base, which is spread over 380 acres, with six miles of waterfront and about 13 000 full-time employees.

Following a competitive tender, BAE Systems, which manages the base on behalf of the Royal Navy, awarded Edina the contract to supply and install three MWM TCG 2032 reciprocating gas engines, rated at 4.5 MWe each. The CHP plant is designed to support the site’s growing energy requirements ahead of the arrival of HMS Prince of Wales at the naval base in 2019.

Fuelled by natural gas, the 13.5 MWe plant will generate electricity and heat, reducing CO2 emissions and saving up to £4 million per year in energy costs.

Steam will be recovered from the CHP exhaust to provide space heating and the electricity generated will be used to power the on-site infrastructure.

In the event of a mains failure at site, the MWM TCG 2032 engines are capable of island mode operation, providing mission critical power and maintaining security of supply.

The CHP plant will be installed within an energy centre, adjacent to and forming an extension of the existing central boiler house, originally built as the ‘Electric Light and Power Station’ in 1906. It will be in close proximity to the existing steam and electrical infrastructure.

The £12 million contract for the CHP facility forms an amendment to the Maritime Services Delivery Framework (MSDF) contract, awarded to BAE Systems by the Ministry of Defence in 2014. Under the MSDF contract, BAE Systems manages Portsmouth Naval Base on behalf of the Royal Navy, as well as supporting half of the Royal Navy’s surface fleet on UK and global operations.

The CHP plant is due to be fully operational in early 2019.

Power from waste in Australia

Edina has also reported it has won a contract to supply a 1.2 MW TCG 2020 V12 MWM gas engine to Ti Tree Bioenergy in Australia. The new engine will join two existing 1.15 MWe gas engines operated and maintained by Eneraque Pty Ltd at its site in Queensland.

The Ti Tree Bioenergy facility represents a major advancement in waste management, aiming to dramatically accelerate the rate of waste stabilisation, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to use the biogas produced by the waste (mostly methane) to produce electricity.

The Queensland facility utilises the 36 million cubic metre void left over from a previous open cut coal operation on the outskirts of Ipswich. As the site is filled with waste, completed areas are rehabilitated.

Ti Tree is located adjacent to main roads and rail transport, further enhancing its role in advancing economically sustainable waste management. The facility also focuses on sustainable development in all facets of its operations, such as the development of forestry plantations and wildlife corridors.

Passing the 500 MWe milestone

Meanwhile, Edina reports that since becoming MWM gas engine technology distributor for UK and Ireland in 2006, it has now installed over 500 MWe of gas engine capacity across the region.

Its first MWM gas engine order was secured in 2006 for Leeds General Infirmary Hospital, consisting of the supply and installation of a 3.9 MWe CHP plant.

Eleven years on, the company has amassed over 230 power generation projects across the UK, Ireland and Australia, operating on a variety of fuels, including natural gas, biogas, landfill gas and sewage gas.

To help maintain security of supply and balance the grid, the company has become one of the UK’s leading suppliers, installers and maintenance providers for peak-lopping power plants, with over 190 MWe of installed capacity and a further 110 MWe in build.