Mitsubishi Power will supply four M501JAC enhanced air-cooled gas turbines for the UTE Portocem plant, while CONSAG will supply the remaining components, including utilities, civil works, assembly, and commissioning of the plant
A FSRU will be chartered by Portocem. (Credit: Complexo do Pecém)
A consortium, comprising Mitsubishi Power Americas and CONSAG, has secured the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the Portocem Thermoelectric Power Plant (UTE Portocem) in Brazil.
The consortium has signed an agreement with Portocem Geração de Energia, which holds the contract power for the National Interconnected System (SIN).
Portocem Geração has won the contract power in the first Power Capacity Reserve Auction in Brazil, held in December 2021.
Under the terms of the contract agreement, Mitsubishi Power will supply four M501JAC-enhanced air-cooled gas turbines for the UTE Portocem plant.
CONSAG will supply the remaining components, including utilities, civil works, assembly, and commissioning of the plant, along with the implementation of transmission lines and substations.
The consortium commenced construction works at the project earlier this month, with a groundbreaking ceremony.
Mitsubishi Power Americas South America sales vice president Eric Shigetomi said: “The UTE Portocem power plant is a historic project for Brazil, allowing for an efficient energy transition and ensuring the reliability of the national electrical system.
Portocem CEO Ronan Dias said: “We are happy with this partnership. Portocem has selected state-of-the-art technology by choosing Mitsubishi Power and a construction company with extensive experience in building this type of project – CONSAG.
“Together, they will help us transform the region into an important natural gas hub in Latin America, attracting several other sustainable investments.”
The UTE Portocem will be constructed in the Pecém Industrial and Port Complex, located in the metropolitan region of Fortaleza, Brazil.
It includes a 6km transmission line that will connect the plant to the National Interconnected System (SIN), through the Pecém 2 substation.
Portocem will charter a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which will be permanently moored within the basin of the Port of Pecém.
The four advanced M501JAC gas turbines will operate in simple cycles at UTE Portocem and represent Mitsubishi Power’s third advanced gas turbine project in Brazil in the last six years.
With an estimated 1.6GW of installed capacity, UTE Portocem is one of the largest power plants in Latin America and provides much-needed generation capacity in Brazil.
CONSAG business director Daniel Breanza said: “The construction of the Portocem Thermoelectric Power Plant in partnership with Portocem and Mitsubishi Power is an important milestone in the history of CONSAG, reinforcing the Group’s position as a major player in the energy and infrastructure sector in Brazil and worldwide.”