Technology group Wärtsilä continues to support Italy’s 2030 national energy plan and decarbonisation ambitions. In Q4 2023, the company booked an order to supply an 18.5 MW Wärtsilä 50SG gas engine to extend an existing plant operating with three Wärtsilä 50SG engines. These fast-starting engines provide crucial grid-balancing capability as Italy increases its share of renewable energy.

At the same time, Wärtsilä has signed five-year Guaranteed Asset Performance agreements covering seven Italian power plants participating in the country’s Capacity Market. The agreements were booked by Wärtsilä as order intake in February 2024. The power plants were taken into use in 2022 and 2023.

“The balancing power plants will need to deliver immediate response and quickly generate the needed power when called to do so by the transmission system operator,” said Kenneth Engblom, Vice President, Africa & Europe at Wärtsilä Energy. “The Guaranteed Asset Performance agreements provide the customer with the peace of mind as they know that when the sun stops shining, or the wind stops blowing, these plants are ready to perform.”

Under Italy’s capacity market, as part of a long-term supply contract, plants are required to supply power on demand to ensure stability to the energy system. Grid balancing is necessary to compensate for fluctuations in supply from renewable sources such as wind and solar.

The plant extension, which is expected to be fully operational before the end of 2024, is considered a separate power unit by Terna, the Italian transmission system operator for the capacity market. It is required to be capable of operating for 2,000 hours per year on an on-call basis by Terna.

The Wärtsilä Guaranteed Asset Performance agreement solution provides assurance of the plants’ availability to deliver power when required. The seven power plants covered by the agreements have a combined output of 380 MW generated by 18 Wärtsilä 50SG and four Wärtsilä 31SG gas-fuelled engines. These engines are able to reach full output within a few minutes of start-up, providing the operational flexibility essential for grid balancing with renewables.

Wärtsilä’s Guarantee Asset Performance agreement solution is designed to ensure high efficiency, maximised uptime, reliability, and availability throughout the asset lifecycle.