Wartsila Provides Efficient and Flexible 90 MW Power Plant to Supply Electricity and District Heating for Dresden, Germany

The technology group Wärtsilä has been awarded a contract to deliver a combined heat and power engine power plant (CHP) to Dresden, Germany. The facility has been ordered by DREWAG, Dresden’s local utility company, and will be delivered by Wärtsilä on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis. Wärtsilä will also maintain the plant under a Wärtsilä Guaranteed asset performance solution for ten years, with a five year extension option. Performance targets are determined based on measured data and Wärtsilä guarantees the targets are met and maintained throughout the duration of the agreement. The order was booked in December 2018.

The Dresden-Reick power plant will feature eight Wärtsilä 31SG engines operating on natural gas delivering electrical output of approximately 90 MW. The extremely high efficiency and flexibility of the Wärtsilä 31SG engine were cited as being key factors in the award of the contract. Another major consideration was the ability of the power plant solution to deliver electricity and district heating simultaneously.

The Wärtsilä engines can reach full output from start-up in a matter of minutes. This enables them to provide immediate balancing of the grid as the system utilises more and more energy from intermittent renewable sources, such as wind and solar.

“The state-of-the-art gas engine technology provided by Wärtsilä is designed to produce minute-to-minute power when it is most valuable. It is equipped with the highest level of efficiency and emission control systems to supply safe, clean, and affordable energy for the state capital for the coming decades,” stated Dr. Frank Brinkmann, Managing Director, DREWAG.

Melle Kruisdijk, Vice President, Europe, Wärtsilä Energy Business, responded by saying; “This is the second major combined heat and power engine power plant that Wärtsilä is building in Germany, and the first with our new Wärtsilä 31SG engines. DREWAG is well known as a leader in applying the latest and most progressive technologies. This contract represents, therefore, a valuable endorsement of Wärtsilä as Energy System Integrator.”

The Dresden-Reick plant is scheduled to become operational in 2021.

Wärtsilä has in Germany sales and service for marine and energy solutions with offices, workshops and state-of-the-art equipment and technology in nine locations with 1 300 employees.