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Wärtsilä to supply Curaçao with BESS

Published by , Editorial Assistant
Energy Global,


Technology group, Wärtsilä, will supply the Caribbean island of Curaçao with a 25 MW/25 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). The system will enable the expansion of renewable energy capacity and the reduction of carbon emissions, representing an important step towards a sustainable energy future for the island. The order was placed by Aqualectra, Curaçao’s government owned utilities company, and will be booked by Wärtsilä in 2Q24.

The BESS and the GEMS Digital Energy Platform will provide grid stability and reliability, reduce unserved energy, and help mitigate the risk of brownouts and blackouts. In addition, the BESS system will allow Aqualectra to expand their renewables’ vision thus allowing more renewable generation in the power system. The BESS system will also help smooth the intermittency of renewables.

“Aqualectra’s strategic objective is to provide the community with affordable, sustainable, and reliable electricity. The Wärtsilä solution will support all these objectives through reducing generation costs, enabling the integration of renewables, and decreasing carbon emissions, while providing high reliability,” commented Joseph Everon, Advisor to the CTO at Aqualectra.

The order with Wärtsilä follows a detailed modelling of the power system to determine the best way forward.

“The BESS and GEMS provide the reserves needed to improve asset loading, and therefore efficiency, availability of energy, grid stability and reliability. Wärtsilä’s leading technologies and our capabilities of lifecycle services will support Aqualectra’s vision of a sustainable energy future. We are pleased to continue our close partnership with this project,” added Christoffer Ek, Director of Decarbonisation services at Wärtsilä Energy.

“The Caribbean has been an important region for Wärtsilä for decades and we have established many long-term relationships over that time. Aqualectra has been one of those great partners and this announcement to add BESS to their system with Wärtsilä is another sign of that strong relationship. Wärtsilä is here with solutions and capabilities for the Caribbean, and we are excited to continue serving this market for decades to come,” concluded Jon Rodriguez, Energy Business Director at Wärtsilä Energy.

The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery in 1Q25, and the project is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2Q25.

Aqualectra is an existing Wärtsilä customer. The company operates three Wärtsilä engine power plants comprising a total of 16 generating sets.

 

 

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global's Spring 2024 issue

The Spring 2024 issue of Energy Global starts with a guest comment from Field on how battery storage sites can serve as a viable solution to curtailed energy, before moving on to a regional report from Théodore Reed-Martin, Editorial Assistant, Energy Global, looking at the state of renewables in Europe. This issue also hosts an array of technical articles on electrical infrastructure, turbine and blade monitoring, battery storage technology, coatings, and more.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/energy-storage/21052024/wrtsil-to-supply-curaao-with-bess/

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