HELSINKI, FINLAND -- (Marketwire) -- 12/13/12 -- Wärtsilä has demonstrated its capability to provide competitive and comprehensive turnkey power plants with outstanding operational efficiency and minimum environmental impact. Furthermore, Wärtsilä has excellent track record in project management and fast track delivery of power plants as well as operation and maintenance services.

Wärtsilä, a leading global supplier of flexible and efficient power plant solutions, has signed a contract to engineer, supply and install a major gas fuelled power plant to Mozambique. This will be the biggest gas power plant ever installed in Mozambique and second largest power plant running exclusively on gas engines to be installed on the African continent. In addition to the power plant itself, the turnkey contract includes the construction of a sub-station and a gas pipeline. The value of the power plant contract is EUR 138 million.

The contract has been signed with the joint venture Central Termica de Ressano Garcia, owned by Sasol New Energy from South Africa and the Mozambique state utility, Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM). The plant will be powered by a total of 18 Wärtsilä 34SG engines running on natural gas, with the gas being fed from the Pande and Temane gas fields. The power plant is scheduled for completion by May 2014, and the electricity produced will be sold to EDM. Once completed, the power plant will be an important part in the development of the power generation infrastructure of Mozambique.

The selection of Wärtsilä gas engine technology for this project has been based on a number of considerations. Notably, Mozambique is a country with considerable gas reserves but with a scarcity of water resources. Thus, Wärtsilä's industry leading gas engine technology that features closed-circuit cooling with minimal water consumption was a natural choice.

"There is rapidly growing demand in Mozambique for electricity, and Wärtsilä has demonstrated its capability to provide competitive and comprehensive turnkey power plants with outstanding operational efficiency and minimum environmental impact. Furthermore, Wärtsilä has excellent track record in project management and fast track delivery of power plants, which also were key considerations for them selecting us," says Vesa Riihimäki, President Power Plants, Wärtsilä Corporation.

Wärtsilä's presence in southern Africa is becoming increasingly significant, and is likely to strengthen further as the use of natural gas fuel continues to be developed. A new Wärtsilä gas power plant built for Sasol New Energy in Sasolburg, South Africa is currently in the final stages of installation.

As of to date, Wärtsilä has delivered 470 power plants to Africa with a total output of 5000 MW. Globally, Wärtsilä has delivered 4,600 power plants in 169 countries with a total generating capacity of close to 49 GW.

Image of the power plant

Read more about Wärtsilä gas power plants and Wärtsilä gas engines

Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2011, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.2 billion with approximately 18,000 employees. The company has operations in nearly 170 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com

Sasol Mozambique:
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