The technology group Wärtsilä will deliver engineering and equipment (EEQ) to a 23 MW power plant to the island of Bantayan, located in Cebu in the Visayas Region of the Philippines. The power plant will supply electricity to the entire island, which currently undergoes frequent blackouts because of the lack of a reliable power supply. The order with Wärtsilä was placed in February by Isla Norte Energy Corp., the company which will build and operate the new plant. Isla Norte Energy Corp. is owned by Gigawatt Power Corporation and Vivant Energy Corporation.The project is part of a 15-year power supply agreement between Vivant Energy and the Bantayan Electric Cooperative. The island, which has a population of approximately 79,000, has considerable potential for both business and tourism development and a reliable, efficient electricity supply is essential if this potential is to be realised.

“The new power plant is an essential element for a secure economic future for Bantayan island. We are, at the same time, actively seeking to deliver electricity to small islands throughout the region, and a capable, reliable partner with a strong local presence, such as Wärtsilä, is needed for this,” said Emil Andre Garcia, Chief Operating Officer of Vivant Energy.

“We have enjoyed a long-term relationship with Gigawatt and Vivant, and are pleased to be again providing a power plant solution tailored to the specific requirements of the project. The Wärtsilä solution features the latest technology with high efficiency engines, and it will certainly add reliability to the local supply system and another addition to the growing installed base in the off grid areas in the Philippines,” commented Frederic Carron, Vice President, Middle East and Asia, Wärtsilä Energy Business.

The plant will operate on two 16-cylinder Wärtsilä 32, and three 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 32 engines. The equipment is scheduled for delivery in autumn 2020, and the plant is expected to become fully operational in the first quarter of 2021.

Wärtsilä has earlier supplied Gigawatt and Vivant with two power plants in the Palawan, the largest off-grid market in the Philippines. Wärtsilä currently has an installed base of close to 1,700 MW in the Philippines.