POWER March 2021 - 34

OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
Inland Power Plants Benefit
from Marine Engines
Engine-based power plants have proven to be dependable complements for
intermittent renewables, but they are also capable of providing steady baseload
electricity. With the right technical support, including lubricant analysis and condition
monitoring, engines that may have originally been developed for marine applications
can provide a long life of consistent operation at inland power plants.
Gabriel Landaeta
T
ravel to some of the most remote
inland territories in the world and it
is highly likely you will see a range
of electricity generating engines more
commonly associated with marine applications.
And because inland power
plants use marine engines, specialized
marine lubricants and technical support
services are required here too.
The inland power generation market is
one Total Lubmarine is looking at more
closely with a dedicated team now servicing
its growing clients' needs around
the world. Power generation implies a
very different business approach, but the
fundamentals of combining highly effective
products with timely deliveries and
technical support to help maintain these
vital assets is exactly the same as the
marine industry.
Tomorrow's Energy Mix
Today, engine power plants are a widely
used technology in power generation,
especially when emergency power is
needed, and in delivering combined heat
and power applications. The integration
of more and more intermittent renewable
energy-primarily centered on wind
and solar energy-into the electricity
grid, means operators need to have a
very flexible, and fast, backup power solution
to ensure supply in times where
no sufficient energy can be generated
from sun and wind.
We only have to go back a couple of
years to the unprecedented blackout in
South Australia to understand the need
for energy protection systems that are
able to ride through voltage disturbances
and are resilient enough to ensure continuity
of supply. Engines help to counterbalance
this energy demand with
fast and responsive generation capacity,
quickly backing up the power system
from potential and extended blackouts.
If there are clouds, sun power goes
34
1. After an order was placed in June 2019, Wärtsilä delivered 12 high-efficiency 50DF dual-fuel
engines, like the one shown here in its factory, for Electricite du Cambodge's C7 power plant,
which is located near the capital city of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Courtesy: Wärtsilä
down significantly, similar to wind, and
then you have to make sure the backup
power is extremely fast. With an engine
you can be on the grid within a minute
and have full power within five minutes.
It's a big advantage.
Reliability and flexibility are critical. The
engines can be turned on (and off) very
easily and very quickly. They are straightforward
to use and produce electricity
efficiently, and do not produce a great
deal of unnecessary emissions in idle or
minimum-load mode. Even in a volatile
power profile, if you have a cluster of engines
you can, for example, shut down
two to three engines and still run with all
the others on full power and efficiency.
Power Immediacy
Thanks to their modularity, engine power
plants are convincing for a number of
reasons. Some of these include:
■ Only energy that is really needed is
generated.
■ Biofuels and biogas can be used to
power the engines.
■ Decentralized applications, meaning
reduced need of additional overhead
power lines.
www.powermag.com
■ High efficiency rates in combined heat
and power generation.
Engines can use the most widely
available fuels in the most environmentally
responsible way, and take power
where it is needed most. They can be
optimized for a wide variety of fuels
from liquid to gaseous, depending on
the availability, purpose, and environmental
considerations.
Among today's engine power plants,
natural gas is a popular option with engine
sizes of more than 1 MW capacity.
It is one of the fastest growing segments
today because you don't have the
prevailing SOx
and NOx
emission issues
of traditional high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO)
fuels-a top priority on the boardroom
agenda-contributing further to lowering
emissions from the energy sector.
Likewise, we are seeing developments
in the way engines can burn renewable
sources such as biogas and biodiesel.
Continuous Supply
In recent years, the investment into
engine developments to help ensure
reliability, safety, and robustness mean
engine power plants can provide steady
POWER | March 2021

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POWER March 2021

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