HELSINKI, Finland -- Wärtsilä will supply a 21 MW Smart Power Generation power plant to the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to a statement from the company.
The order includes three Wärtsilä 34SG-LPG engines running on propane gas. Wärtsilä’s scope covers the entire engineering, procurement and construction of the power plant, which will be located on St. Thomas island. The order is booked for the first quarter of 2017 and is slated for completion in early 2018.
According to a release, the USVI has no domestic fossil energy resources and relies on imports of petroleum products to meet its energy needs. The USVI's electric utility WAPA is completing an energy infrastructure modernization project, the largest of its kind in the Caribbean. This will allow the use of propane gas for energy production, which will reduce the cost of electricity and dependence on diesel oil.
This will be Wärtsilä’s first power plant in the USVI and the third propane-fired power plant delivered by Wärtsilä.
“The Wärtsilä generating units will be critical to the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s ability to maximize the full potential of its recent conversion from fuel oil to LPG as the primary fuel source. The Wärtsilä power plant will be a cornerstone in providing not only reliable and highly efficient power generation, but in making more affordable electricity available to our customers,” WAPA Executive Director and CEO Julio A. Rhymer said in a release.