Challenges
- Need to provide a 150kV solution with 50Hz generating equipment
- Uncertain quality of diesel oil for dual-fuel gas turbines
- Aggressive installation and commissioning schedule
Background
The electricity sector of Uruguay is largely based on domestic hydropower, which leaves the country vulnerable to seasonal rainfall patterns. As a result, it is dependent on electricity imports from neighboring countries like Argentina and Brazil. However, given the economic growth and increasing electricity demand of these countries, Uruguay could no longer rely on imports to meet domestic consumption.
Solution
To add capacity to the national grid and alleviate seasonal and market shortages, APR Energy in 2012 provided a turnkey plant consisting of four high power density FT8® MOBILEPAC® turbine generators. The plant, including the required substation and interconnection works, was completed in less than 45 days. To ensure optimal performance of our state-of-the-art dual-fuel gas turbine technology, we also installed a series of centrifuges to guarantee a clean supply of diesel-oil. Given the immediate need for power, we relied on an Antonov strategic airlift jet to deliver the first MOBILEPAC® within days. Once in operation, this capacity added 100MW to the national electricity grid and helped provide a temporary solution to mitigate Uruguay’s supply/demand constraints during construction of a permanent generating facility.
Outcome
In 2012, UTE awarded APR Energy an additional contract to provide an incremental 200MW, bringing its total capacity to 300MW in the country. Extremely satisfied with the service it received, UTE renewed APR Energy’s contract multiple times to run into 2016.