Wärtsilä inks 15-year maintenance deal for El Salvador LNG-to-power project

The Finnish technology group Wärtsilä signed a long-term operation & maintenance (O&M) agreement with Energía del Pacífico for a 378 MW LNG-fired power plant in El Salvador.

The 15-year agreement was signed in the fourth quarter of 2019 and will take effect when the plant commences operations at the end of 2021, the company said in its statement.

The power plant comprises 19 Wärtsilä 50SG engines running on natural gas fuel, and a steam turbine in a highly efficient Flexicycle combined cycle arrangement.

This plant will be the largest and most efficient power plant in El Salvador. It will provide approximately one-third of the country’s electricity supply with clean electricity and will help reduce the country’s dependence on oil and heavy fuel oil for power generation.

Energía del Pacífico’s LNG-to-power project currently under construction at the Port of Acajutla, El Salvador, is comprised of a 378-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired power plant, a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), and an approximately 44-kilometer electric transmission line that will connect to the Central American Electrical Interconnection System.

The project is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2021.