Technology group Wärtsilä has secured a contract for 452 MW of power generation equipment and a long-term Operation and Maintenance agreement with the Pecos Power Plant, owned by Mercuria Americas and Continental Resources. This milestone project, located in Pecos, Texas, USA, is designed to deliver flexible generation to maintain grid reliability in a power system with rapidly growing renewable penetration. Wärtsilä booked an initial order for 226MW in Q1 2025, increased the order by 226MW in Q3 2025, and the O&M agreement was signed in Q4 2025.

The Pecos Power Plant, developed by Peak Reliability (a Mercuria Company) in partnership with Wärtsilä, combines proven development expertise with advanced power generation technology to deliver reliable and efficient energy to West Texas. The facility consists of 24 Wärtsilä 1850SG reciprocating engines that help meet the region’s growing electricity demand. Overall, the project highlights Wärtsilä’s capability in delivering comprehensive power plant solutions and underscores the company’s growing role as a lifecycle partner for large-scale independent power producers.

“The flexibility of Wärtsilä’s technology will allow us to maximize our operational efficiency in an increasingly volatile power market. This further allows us to reliably serve our customers when they need power most. The region is experiencing record-breaking demand for electricity, and this project will play an important role in meeting this demand,” says Martin Parizek, Managing Director of Peak Reliability.

The development effort led by the Peak Reliability team in strong collaboration with the Project Development team of Wärtsilä played a pivotal role in enabling the project to deliver power to the grid quickly. This natural gas plant will bring critical dispatchable energy generation to an area of ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) that is situated in one of the world’s largest pools of renewable energy. In addition to enhancing the reliability of the ERCOT grid, the power plant will also support west Texas industries and businesses through low cost, efficient, reliable power.

“Wärtsilä understands the pressing need to meet growing power demand with solutions that support energy supply, reliability and sustainability. By supporting delivery of end-to-end power supply projects from concept to execution, Wärtsilä is driving customer efficiency by reducing risks and time to market. Furthermore, our world-class expertise in operating and maintaining plants allows customers to focus on their core business, while we ensure optimal performance,” comments Risto Paldanius, Vice President, Americas at Wärtsilä Energy.

The Operation and Maintenance agreement covers the full buildout of the project, forming a significant O&M power plant project for Wärtsilä Energy.  With this agreement, Wärtsilä will be responsible for ensuring the long-term performance, availability and reliability of the plant, supporting secure power supply in the ERCOT system.

The plant is expected to commence commercial operations in 2027.