Twenty20 Energy-built plant will provide 45MW of power to Port Moresby area

Dirio_Power_Station

The Dirio Central Province Power Station. (Credit: Business Wire)

Twenty20 Energy announced today that the Dirio Central Province Power Station (DCPPS), built on behalf of Dirio Gas & Power Company Ltd, was commissioned and began delivering power in December 2021 to the Port Moresby capital area, in Papua New Guinea.

The DCPPS is the most recent investment project in the power generation business for Dirio Gas & Power Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Mineral Resources Development Company Limited (MRDC), which is a wholly state-owned enterprise established to hold and manage provincial government and landowner equity interests in mineral and petroleum development projects.

The DCPPS project, 100 percent owned by PNG landowners, solves critical infrastructure issues. With a total capacity of 45 MW, and delivering power more efficiently and affordably, the goal is to reduce the need for rolling blackouts that have plagued the national capital for many years.

The power station is strategically located west of the capital city and adjacent to the Exxon Mobil LNG facility. The electric energy produced will be fed directly into PNG Power Ltd (PPL) Port Moresby Grid.

“The Dirio Central Province Power Station is a great step in the right direction toward delivering reliable, cost-effective power to the capital city and the entire nation,” said Geoff Lawrence, CEO of Twenty20 Energy. “We will continue to work with the PNG government, Dirio, MRDC, the provincial governments, and landowners of Papua New Guinea to add much-needed power generation capacity to meet the electrification needs of the Nation in a commercially and environmentally responsible way.”

Government officials have set a goal of 70 percent electrification for all of PNG through a series of innovative solutions by 2030, an objective which Twenty20 Energy will work toward as a collaborative partner.

Twenty20 Energy, which provided complete turnkey engineering, procurement and construction for the DCPPS, now operates and maintains the station as part of a 20-year services contract. Twenty20 Energy worked in conjunction with some of the world’s leading companies, including Solar Turbines (Caterpillar), Exxon Mobil, and ABB-Hitachi to deliver the project.

“Our successful partnership with Twenty20 Energy is a major milestone on the path to more and more affordable power for the residents and business interests of Papua New Guinea,” said John Tuaim, CEO of Dirio Gas & Power. “The commissioning of this plant supports increasing economic development and urbanization in PNG, along with meeting the increasing demand for electrification.”

Twenty20 Energy Systems was established as an engineering, procurement and construction firm to help Papua New Guinea meet its need for electrical energy both now and into the future. Since 2014, Twenty20’s management has successfully worked with state-related and private companies, including PNG Power, Bank of South Pacific, ExxonMobil, MRDC, Dirio Gas and Power and others to deliver 16 nationally significant energy and construction projects.

“Twenty20 will continue to work with government bodies, power authorities and corporations to identify, develop and implement projects that will deliver improvements in power generation capacity while being economically viable and sensitive to environmental impact,” said Lawrence. “We can deliver power using a broad range of power generation solutions, including natural gas, hydroelectric, solar, or co-generation solutions of any scale, as appropriate for the opportunities and constraints present in any given location.”

The Dirio Central Province Power Station comprises three Solar Turbines Titan 130 Modular Power Plant Sets in Open Cycle configuration, each with a rated capacity of 15MW reaching the required 45MW in total. The modular plant design allows for further expansion at a later date, with the ability to add 12MW of generation capacity in the Combined Cycle configuration.

Source: Company Press Release