The Caribbean Utilities Company Ltd. (CUC) is expanding its power capacity on Grand Cayman Island with the addition of two diesel fuelled Caterpillar 3616 engine gensets. The turnkey contract, which will supply a total of 8.8 MW of continuous power, is needed to keep pace with an increased demand for power on the island.
The two units will be used as part of a load management configuration. With the upgrade, the utility’s power capacity will increase to 97.2 MW. Since 1996, demand for power on Grand Cayman has increased by 18.7 per cent due to development taking place on the island, including the construction of banks and hotels.
There is also a trend towards an increased use of air conditioning and electronic equipment in business offices, according to Caterpillar.
Caterpillar is responsible for handling the project on a turnkey basis. In addition to installing the units, Caterpillar will carry out maintenance under a separate agreement and is supplying the auxiliary equipment, switchgear and electronic controls.
Each of the gensets is rated to produce 4.4 MW of continuous power, and is part of a package that includes a 16 cylinder Cat 3616 engine rated at 900 r/min. Each engine will drive a Kato synchronous generator and corresponding switchgear. The installation will be located at the utility’s main power plant, connected to a 10 000 kVA transformer stepping up voltage from 4160 V to 13 000 V.
Originally due for completion in late 1999, Caterpillar has stated that the project will now be completed by September 1998.
The gensets are scheduled for delivery to the site this month as packaged, skid-mounted units with control, shut down and monitoring systems in place. The engines, which are four-stroke, direct fuel injection, turbo charged and aftercooled diesels, will be equipped with electric actuator governing systems and solid-state electronic control governing systems capable of isochronous speed control.
Electrical safety shutdowns will be provided to protect against overspeeding, low oil pressure, high water temperature, high oil temperature and high crankshaft pressure.
As part of an $18.9 million capital expenditure programme, CUC’s control room is to be upgraded with the installation of an integrated control system (ICS). In addition to monitoring all the generator sets, this ICS will provide operators with information needed for achieving the most fuel-efficient configuration. Also included is a SCADA system for the utility’s transmission and distribution network.