Technology firm Wärtsilä has announced that it has completed and handed over a 100MW combined heat and power plant to German utility Kraftwerke Mainz-Wiesbaden (KMW).

Wärtsilä supplied and built the plant on a full engineering, procurement, and construction contract. The scope also includes a comprehensive 15-year maintenance agreement that guarantees the plant’s availability and reliability.

The plant was handed over to KMW on the 23rd of December and will allow the utility to:

Feed excess heat generated during power generation into the Mainz district heating network. Up to 96MW of capacity will be fed into the district heating system, enough to heat some 40,000 households.

Ensure power supply stability. The plant operates with ten gas-fuelled Wärtsilä 34SG engines. The operational flexibility of the plant enables KMW to start and stop the engines without limitations as fast as within 2,5 minutes. This provides essential grid balancing support as the power system incorporates ever-increasing renewable sources.

Enable KMW to operate in the short-term balancing markets since power output can be quickly adjusted to respond to fluctuations in the power demand, as signalled by the electricity price.

Play a key role in helping Germany reach its target of increasing its capacity from CHP plants to 25% of the total energy mix by 2025. This will also help the EU nation to become greenhouse gas neutral by 2050. Germany has set the preliminary target of cutting emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
 

Wärtsilä’s new CHP plant in Germany.

Jörg Höhler, CTO/member-management board, Kraftwerke Mainz-Wiesbaden AG, said: “This commencement of commercial operations for the Wärtsilä CHP plant provides us with a modern, agile, low-carbon system capable of utilising green energy assets to the full. Fast-acting power generation is essential in today’s energy markets, and this plant meets all our requirements in this respect.”

Pekka Tolonen, energy business director Europe, Wärtsilä, adds: “With this plant, we are proud to be supporting Germany’s ambitious transition to a green energy future with extensive use of renewables. Flexible engines are an ideal partner for renewables, and they help future-proof our customer’s investment allowing them to participate in the volatile electricity markets.”