Designed for variable power generation, Wärtsilä 31SG gas-drive system can be synchronised to the power grid within 30 seconds, and reach full load within 120 seconds. The new plant will allow swb Bremen react quickly to balance the rising volumes o of volatile power from renewable sources with no risk of downtime.
Start-up scheduled for 2023
The 105 MW gas drive power plant is meant to be completed within the next two-and-a-half years, replacing a 119 MW hard coal unit (Block 15) at Bremen Hastedt. The municipal utility still operates a 303 MW hard coal unit (Block 6) at the city’s nearby port.
"With the decision to replace the hard coal-fired combined-cycle block Hastedt 15 with a highly efficient combined-cycle unit with nine natural gas-powered engines, we have achieved the optimum combination of climate protection, availability and cost-effectiveness,” said SWB managing director generation, Jens-Uwe Freiag.
The engineering division at Uniper will serve as general contractor in overseeing all aspects of the project, while Wärtsilä will supply the technical components and carry out repair and maintenance of the plant to ensure a guaranteed output.
Consortium eyes further projects
The gas-drive power plant in Bremen is the first project in the Uniper/Wärtsilä partnership for cogeneration in Germany. “The conversion from coal-to-gas will allow SWB decrease CO2 emissions by up to 75%,” Uniper stated. Going forward, the two companies aim to pursue other joint projects of this kind.
With about 34 GW of installed generation capacity, Düsseldorf-based Uniper is among the largest global power generators. It is also manages a diversified gas portfolio, with 220 Bcm of natural gas sold last year to customers throughout Europe.
Helsinki-listed Wärtsilä focuses on smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions both for marine and energy markets. Its technical focus lies on total plant efficiency and data analytics.