Technology group Wärtsilä has signed a ten-year optimised maintenance agreement with Midwest Energy, a customer-owned cooperative, located in Hays, Kansas, United States. The agreement covers the 104 MW Goodman Energy Center, located in Ellis County, operating with natural-gas fuelled Wärtsilä 34SG engines. The plant primarily serves as a flexible balancing power plant, responding to fluctuations in load and non-dispatchable generation, to support the regional power grid. The agreement order was booked by Wärtsilä in Q2 2026.

“Maintaining operational efficiency is critical to our ability to provide reliable power to our customers in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP),” says Aaron Rome, Vice President of Energy Supply, Midwest Energy. “The Goodman facility utilizes Wärtsilä engines as the prime mover, so it makes sense to have the OEM provider plan, supervise, and support all required major maintenance activities associated with those engines.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Wärtsilä will provide field services, spare parts, remote support, control system patching, and assist with maintenance planning. Also included is Expert Insight, Wärtsilä’s unique digital predictive maintenance product that enables customer support to be delivered proactively by Wärtsilä Expertise Centres.

“Wärtsilä’s long-term service agreements are designed to deliver tangible benefits to the customer. They help facilities maintain operational efficiency, ensuring reliable power for communities and businesses. As a key element of Wärtsilä’s Lifecycle services, these agreements also support improved asset performance, reduced operational risk and greater long-term predictability,” comments Kees de Grijs, General Manager, Business Development, Agreements and Upgrades, North America at Wärtsilä Energy. “The support we provide encompasses the company’s technology, software, service expertise, and our thorough understanding of installations on a system level. This enables customers to take a more proactive approach to operations, optimise maintenance planning, and make informed decisions across the asset lifecycle.”

Midwest Energy is a customer-owned electric and natural gas cooperative, serving 92,000 electric and natural gas customers in 40 counties in central and western Kansas.