Wartsila wins order for six flexible Italian gas plants
Finnish technology group Wartsila has secured a contract from Italian utility Metaenergiaproduzione for the supply of six flexible gas-fired power plants in Italy. The stations will expand the country's available baseload capacity in order to support its shift towards renewables.
The stations with a combined capacity of 380 MW are due online in June 2022. Construction already began last month. Wartsila will deliver and install five of the plants, to be located in Gorizia, Piombino, Sulmona, Cassino and Melfi, on an engineering, procurement and construction basis. The sixth in Castellanza will be supplied on an engineering and equipment delivery basis.
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"The new fast-starting plants are needed to provide flexible system balancing as Italy strives to incorporate more renewable energy, in line with its 2030 national energy, climate and decarbonisation plan," Constantin von Wasserschleben, chairman of international asset manager IKVA Group, a shareholder in Metaenergiaproduzione, commented.
Italy's capacity market pays power plant operators for their available capacity regardless of whether they produce any electricity. This helps avoid shortages by ensuring that reserve baseload capacity can quickly be switched on when, for example, intermittent wind and solar capacity is low.
The plants will feature 18 Wartsila 50SG and four Wartsila 31SG gas-fuelled engines. They will add to the 1,411 MW of power generation capacity that Wartsila has already delivered to Italy, the company said.