NFEnergía, a Puerto Rico subsidiary of New Fortress Energy, has secured a contract from Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to supply natural gas and conversion units 5 and 6 of the San Juan Combined Cycle Power Plant.
Image: The conversion of San Juan units 5 and 6 is anticipated to be completed by the middle of this year. Photo courtesy of Karsten W. Rohrbach/Freeimages.com
New Fortress Energy said that the initial term for the contract is five years, with options for PREPA to extend the contract for three additional five-year periods. As per PREPA, the conversion of the units 5 and 6, from diesel to natural gas can generate up to $750m in fuel cost savings over five years, while significantly reducing emissions.
After making several conversion attempts in the past ten years, PREPA launched a competitive request for proposal (RFP) bid process last July to supply fuel and the conversion San Juan power plant’s units 5 and 6.
New Fortress Energy claims that NFEnergía’s bid was selected based on fourteen grading criteria, which included experience and capacity, approach and methodology, along with the price.
New Fortress founder and CEO Wes Edens said: “This is a very pivotal transaction for PREPA and Puerto Rico. The conversion of San Juan Units 5 & 6 to natural gas will save hundreds of millions of dollars and accelerate the modernization of critical power infrastructure.
“Natural gas power is cleaner, cheaper and is the perfect complement to renewable energy. New Fortress is proud to invest in the security and sustainability of Puerto Rico’s clean and renewable energy future.”
NFEnergía will supply natural gas to the power plant from its micro fuel handling facility in the Port of San Juan, which has been in development for more than a year. The facility is being built with multiple truck loading bays to provide liquefied natural gas to on-island industrial customers and microgrids.
The conversion of San Juan units 5 and 6 and the development of the micro fuel handling facility are anticipated to be completed by the middle of this year.
PREPA CEO José Ortiz Vázquez said: “For the first time, this infrastructure project will successfully bring natural gas to the north of Puerto Rico, achieving one of the strategic objectives of the Island’s energy sector. It also provides substantial savings to our customers and reduces carbon dioxide (CO2 emissions), which impact the environment and climate change.”