The increasing demand for energy and long transport distances from power plant to the end-user affect the reliability of electricity supply, as well as the price of electrical and thermal energy.

In an effort to manage their increasing energy costs, many of the world’s industries are turning to small decentralised power plants to provide their energy needs. These locally based plants are becoming one of the main sources of power and heat around the world, says a spokesman for Wärtsilä Corporation, a leading global ship power supplier and major provider of decentralised power generation systems and supporting services. The company is participating at the Jeddah Water and Power Forum.
Highly efficient decentralised power plants represent an effective solution for energy supplies where the industry energy demands and business requirements to reduce production costs cannot be satisfied by the large utility’s grid, says the spokesman.
The main customer groups are industrial manufacturers, utilities and municipalities, independent power producers and the oil and gas industry.
The main product groups, based on medium speed engines are:
• Heavy fuel and crude oil power plants 1 - 300 MW;
• Gas power plant 3.5 - 300 MW;
• Light fuel oil power plant 3.5 - 300 MW;
• Prime movers and mechanical drives for the oil and gas industry.
“Small locally based power plants featuring recently introduced gas engines, and dual-fuel (oil and gas) engines are transforming the global energy supply market. These small efficient decentralised power plants account for almost 40 per cent of all new power plants sold worldwide,” says the spokesman.
“This developing trend gets its driving force from the many cost and power security benefits that decentralised power generation offers owners and operators. A main benefit is co-generation or combined heat and power (CHP), where the industry can use the power plant’s waste heat for its own production processes or can sell its waste heat to a local industry or to a district-heating network. Most of the recent decentralised gas-fired power plants in Europe are cogeneration plants, he continues.

Benefits of distributed cogeneration
Cogeneration is a closed process where no cooling of the engines is needed as the heat from the process is taken into profitable use. Due to the gas engines’ unbeatable electrical efficiency throughout the load range, the CO2 emissions are very low in combined heat and power plants, so they comply easily with the most stringent environmental regulations.
The Finnish company Wärtsilä offers combined heat and power (CHP) solutions for utilities, IPP’s and industry with typical plant sizes ranging from 4 -100 MWe. The combination of high efficiency and low emissions offered by Wärtsilä CHP plants is unequalled in the market, says the spokesman.
Wärtsilä engines comply with various national and local environmental requirements.
“The heart of Wärtsilä’s CHP plant is Wärtsilä’s reliable engine technology that stems from long experience of demanding marine and power plant applications. A reciprocating engine is the most efficient means of converting liquid or gaseous fuels into energy. The Wärtsilä CHP plant can run on most natural gas types, heavy and light fuel oils, emulsified fuels and liquid bio fuels while maintaining low emissions and high efficiency. Dual-fuel engines give added reliability to the CHP plant, as they can use the cheapest fuel available as needed,” the spokesman says.
The plants include thermal heat recovery for hot water, steam, direct-fire hot air, or chilled water - raising an already efficient electricity generation plant to a total efficiency even beyond 90 per cent compared to the general 43 per cent in simple cycle electricity generation. More efficient use of fuel also equals fewer emissions per unit of fuel. To optimise the balance of thermal and electrical energy production, each plant is customised to fit the end user’s needs. All Wärtsilä engines have a simple and straightforward modern design with facilities for easy and rapid maintenance, he adds.
“Wärtsilä’s aim is to ensure the best possible performance from the power plant investment throughout its lifecycle. The company provides a comprehensive range of services built on the concept of enhancing the customer’s profitability by optimising all aspects of the power plant operation. The services range from rapid spare parts delivery to a complete operation and maintenance partnership, allowing the customer to focus on his core business,” the spokesman says.
Wärtsilä’s gas power plant portfolio is unique in the industry in providing a new, viable and large-scale alternative to solutions based on gas turbines.  It offers very dynamic sizing and operating modes, along with competitive emission levels and higher efficiency.
Wärtsilä Operations & Maintenance currently runs more than 130 plants around the world, making it the world’s leading power plant O & M contractor.
Through innovative products and services, Wärtsilä sets out to be the most valued business partner of all its customers. This is achieved by the dedication of more than 12,000 professionals manning 130 Wärtsilä offices in over 60 countries around the world, says the spokesman.