Wärtsilä has signed deals to develop 382 MW of capacity in Argentina as part of plans by the country's national grid system operator to boost capacity.

Wärtsilä has signed deals to develop 382 MW of capacity in Argentina as part of plans by the country’s national grid system operator to boost capacity and the reliability of electricity supplies.

The Finnish firm will supply three power plants to Industrias J.F.Secco S.A. (Secco). It has also been awarded contract by two other independent power producers (IPPs) to develop two other power plants.

The total value of the orders is €150 million, Wärtsilä said.

The projects stem from a tender issued by Cammesa, Argentina’s national grid system operator, to further develop and strengthen the national grid and improve power supply reliability.

Natural gas, the primary fuel for power plants, is not available for several months during the year, thus making the highly efficient Wärtsilä dual-fuel technology a very suitable solution. It is also particularly competitive, due to its ability to employ heavy fuel oil as a backup at a much lower cost than light fuel oil.

The Wärtsilä plants will feed power into Argentina’s national grid under a power purchase agreement between Secco and the government of Argentina.

The three Secco plants will have a combined output of 192 MW and will use dual-fuel engines running on natural gas as a primary fuel and heavy fuel oil as a back up.

Thirteen Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines are included in the deliveries for two of the plants, while four Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines will power the third plant. All three plants will be located in the Santa Fe province in central Argentina.

The equipment is scheduled to be delivered in early 2017. The plants will be fully operational during the second half of 2017. The contract includes extended engineering and equipment (EEQ).