Business
Africa’s largest gas power plant, supplied by Wärtsilä, to be inaugurated today
Despite the high altitude (1,500 metres) of the Sasolburg plant, the Wärtsilä gas engines are able to operate with an extremely high level of efficiency. Furthermore, the closed-loop cooling system used by Wärtsilä imposes a minimal demand for water, which is an important factor in areas such as this where water resources are limited.
The plant is operated and maintained by Wärtsilä under a 3-year agreement. By taking responsibility for operating and maintaining the power plant, Wärtsilä implements its global best practices to ensure that it delivers the design output with maximum efficiency. Local employees of Sasol New Energy have also been trained as part of this agreement.
Wärtsilä’s presence in southern Africa is becoming increasingly significant, and is likely to strengthen further as the use of natural gas as fuel continues to be developed. In December 2012, Wärtsilä signed a contract to engineer, supply and install a major gas fueled power plant in Mozambique.
The power plant is scheduled for completion by May 2014.
To date, Wärtsilä has delivered 470 power plants to Africa with a total output of 5,000 MW. Globally, Wärtsilä has delivered almost 4,700 power plants in 169 countries with a total generating capacity of close to 54 GW.
About Wärtsilä: Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasizing technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximizes the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2012, Wärtsilä’s net sales totaled EUR 4.7 billion (US$ 6.02 billion) with approximately 18,900 employees.
The company has operations in nearly 170 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland. More information is available on the company’s website at www.wartsila.com
