The technology group Wärtsilä has been contracted to deliver an LNG-fueled power plant to the Bahamas utility, Bahamas Power and Light (BPL).
The 132 MW engine power plant has been ordered on a full engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) basis, Wärtsilä said the plant is due to go into commercial operations in the end of summer 2019.
The plant will operate on seven Wärtsilä 50 engines fueled primarily with liquefied natural gas (LNG) when it becomes locally available, but can in the meantime operate on conventional heavy fuel oil.
The installation will be in BPL’s existing Station A on the island of New Providence, which is being stripped of all of its current slow speed reciprocating engines to make room for the new Wärtsilä generating sets.
Delivery of the Wärtsilä plant is scheduled for summer 2019.
“BPL is on a parallel path to install additional generating capacity as quickly as possible in order to meet demand, and to replace our existing temporary generating assets,” Whitney Hastie , CEO of BPL said.
Hastie said Wärtsilä engines were selected because of the flexibility to be upgraded to burn natural gas when LNG becomes available on the island of New Providence.