Centrica Building Two 50-Megawatt Gas Engine Plants in U.K.

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The U.K. is set to get two 50-megawatt (MW) gas engine power plants by next summer following a deal between Centrica plc (OTC:CPYYY) (Windsor, England) and Wartsila Corporation (OTC:WRTDF) (Helsinki, Finland).

Wartsila has been contracted to supply two 50-MW Smart Power Generation plants at the sites of the existing Brigg and Peterborough power stations. Wartsila is also the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. The plants will generate balancing power for the national grid, and combined, they will provide enough electricity for approximately 100,000 homes with rapid start-up times of just two minutes to full load.

The deal comes a month after Centrica secured 15-year agreements for more than 500 MW of new capacity in the government's last power auction. Each plant is based on five Wartsila 34SG engines running on natural gas. Construction of the plants will start in June this year, and commissioning is expected in June 2018 for both facilities.

The U.K. is adding increasing amounts of intermittent renewable power generation, and the power system needs flexible power plants to make sure that electricity levels are kept at stable levels. The plants will be the biggest medium-speed, engine-based gas power plants in the U.K., according to Wartsila.

"Centrica's decision to go with our technology is a testament to the fact that our Smart Power Generation technology plays a key role in the U.K. power system," said Bent Iversen, business development manager at Wartsila Energy Solutions. "It shows that flexibility is needed and rewarded by the market."

Wartsila now has more than 250 MW of power generation in the U.K. Worldwide, that figure rises to more than 60 gigawatts in 176 countries.

Centrica is refocusing its operations on gas-fired power after a foray into wind energy. In recent weeks, Industrial Info reported recently that the company had completed its exit from the wind energy sector with the sale of its 50% stake in the Lincs offshore windfarm, located 8 kilometres (km) off the east coast of England near Skegness, to the U.K.'s Green Investment Bank (GIB). For additional information, see January 24, 2017, article--Centrica Exits Wind Energy Sector.

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