By
Jack Burke25 January 2023
A
balancing act for Wärtsilä
Project scheduled to go online in 2025
Wärtsilä will supply six 50SG engines for a new balancing power plant
in the US state of North Dakota.
According to Wärtsilä, the Pioneer Generation Station Phase IV power
plant project will provide Basin Electric Power Cooperative with the
flexible gas generation needed to balance the inherent variability of
energy from renewable sources, notably wind and solar. This balancing
capability will enable Basin Electric to expand its generation to
ensure reliable, affordable and responsible power to its membership.
The plant will operate with six Wärtsilä 50SG gas engines having a
combined net output of 108 MW. The fast-starting and stopping ability
of Wärtsilä’s engine technology allows full output to be reached in
just minutes, thus helping ensure a stable and reliable electricity
supply regardless of the weather conditions, the company said.
![](images/images_01_26_2023/Pic3.png)
An expansion at a US power plant will
include six Wärtsilä 50SG gas engines having a combined net output of
108 MW. (Image: Wärtsilä)
The site will also have two F-Class gas turbines with the capacity to
produce up to 250 MW each. The first turbine is expected to be in
service by June of 2025 with the second coming online in 2026.
Overall, the project will ad 583 MW of power generation.
The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery in the beginning of
2024, and the plant is expected to become operational by the summer of
2025.
“The Pioneer Generation Station Phase IV power plant project will
serve the growing needs of the cooperative’s members with reliable,
affordable, and responsible electricity,” said Todd Telesz, Basin
Electric CEO and General Manager. “Load forecasts show member
cooperatives will require more electricity by 2025.”
In addition to their grid balancing capabilities, Wärtsilä said its
gas engine solutions require a relatively low gas pressure to sustain
full rated capacity.
“Unlike high-pressure alternatives that require a gas pressure of 20
to 60 bar (300 to 900 psi), our engines need only 6 to 12 bar (90 to
180 psi). This helps to ensure supply reliability at all times,” said
Jon Rodriguez, director, Engine Power Plants, North America, Wärtsilä
Energy.
Wärtsilä said reciprocating engine power plants based on internal
combustion engine technology are being increasingly deployed in the
United States to balance renewables. Flexible technologies, such as
grid balancing power plants and energy storage, also offer a
sustainable means for decarbonizing energy production by allowing
higher renewable production by reducing the need to curtail those
resources.
Basin Electric Power Cooperative is a generation and transmission
cooperative owned by 131 member cooperative systems across nine states
serving three million consumers. Basin Electric has earlier purchased
Wärtsilä engines for another of its power generating facilities in
North Dakota.
Wärtsilä has a major presence in the U.S.A. with offices in nine
strategic locations. To date the company has an installed base of 3800
MW in the country.
Guy J Swanson
Exactrix Global Systems
4501 East Trent Avenue
Spokane, Washington.
99212
509-535-9925 office.
509-995-1879 cell.
exactrix@exactrix.com
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
www.exactrix.com
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