Technology group Wärtsilä has signed an Operations & Maintenance agreement with Brazilian utility Rio Amazonas Energia (RAESA) to provide full operations and maintenance support for the Cristiano Rocha power plant in Manaus, Brazil. The agreement serves to strengthen the relationship already in place between Wärtsilä and RAESA, which entered into a Guarantee Asset Performance agreement in November 2019 to assist the plant to run with 100% natural gas. The O&M agreement went into effect on February 1, 2023 and will last 28 months.

The Cristiano Rocha power plant operates five Wärtsilä 50SG gas engines with a combined net output of 92 MW. The fast-starting and stopping ability of Wärtsilä’s engine technology allows full output to be reached in just minutes, ensuring not only a stable and reliable electricity supply but also grid stability. The Cristiano Rocha power plant contributes 65 MW of energy to the national grid through a power purchase agreement with Eletronorte.

Wärtsilä’s expertise and ability to offer a full O&M solution were key reasons why RAESA chose them to oversee the Cristiano Rocha power plant’s operations and maintenance needs.

“RAESA is committed to being the most reliable, cost-effective energy producer possible to thrive in the Brazilian energy marketplace. Wärtsilä’s ability to help customers reduce costs while maintaining a high level of quality assured us from the start. Wärtsilä is able to meet our needs in terms of savings while guaranteeing world-class reliability,” says CEO Edesio Alves Nunes Filho from Raesa.

“As a manufacturer, our goal is to offer the best solution in terms of scope, knowledge, and value. By extending our relationship with RAESA to cover the operations and maintenance of the Cristiano Rocha power plant, we will be able to ensure the plant can continue dispatching energy 24/7 while keeping costs low and performance high,” says Business Development Manager Carlos Henrique Gonzales from Wärtsilä.