Wärtsilä has made its first foray into Uruguay’s power market, taking an order from a construction consortium for a new baseload power plant.
The Finnish firm will supply the equipment and engineering for the new 80 MW plant, which is to be located within the existing Central Batlle power plant field in Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo. The deal also includes a two-year operation and maintenance agreement.
The new plant will consist of eight used Wärtsilä 12V46 engines that have been overhauled and reconditioned by Wärtsilä. The engines will initially be run on heavy fuel oil (HFO), but will later be converted to gas and HFO dual-fuel capability, when they will run mainly on natural gas.
The power plant will be connected to Uruguay’s national grid, supplying power to national utility UTE. The order was placed by a consortium made up of construction firms Teyma Uruguay SA and Saceem, which bid for the project specifying Wärtsilä equipment.
The order is valued at EUR35 million. The new plant will help to balance the electricity generating mix in Uruguay, where some 70 per cent of electricity is supplied by hydropower.
