Wärtsilä Finland Oy will introduce a new kind of inverter to its plants in Vaasa and it will allow the electricity produced in connection with engine test runs to be converted so that it can be fed to the national grid. This project is part of Granlund’s energy conservation survey and proposed measures for Wärtsilä with the aim of achieving a 10% reduction in energy consumption by 2016.
Wärtsilä has joined the energy efficiency agreement 2008-2016 which is a continuation of the voluntary energy conservation agreements initiated by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1997. The energy efficiency agreement has defined a 9% energy conservation target for 2016 and Wärtsilä’s aim is to exceed this target by one percentage point.
Granlund has proposed several energy conservation measures for Wärtsilä’s production unit and buildings. A significant portion of the energy savings will be achieved by using an inverter that utilizes converter technology that is new to the metal industry. It makes it possible to convert the electricity so that it can be fed to the 50 hertz national grid. The technology is based on converter technology used for wind turbines.
The Vaasa unit’s test runs have a significant power production potential because, in addition to other energy production, they produce up to 10,000 MWh of electrical energy annually that can then be fed to the grid through the inverters. The system will be introduced in two phases. After the second phase of introduction in the summer of 2015 the maximum capacity may be up to 26 MW.
“What is special about the Vaasa unit is the distribution of energy consumption as the single biggest form of energy use is the fuel used to test the customer engines. Thus, we can achieve the greatest savings by utilizing the energy produced in connection with the test runs. Otherwise it would not be possible for us to achieve the 10% target” says Heikki Humalamäki who is responsible for the project at Wärtsilä.
Further information:
Matti Urjo
Department Director, Electricity
Granlund Oy
firstname.lastname@granlund.fi
Tel. +358 50 525 2242
Heikki Humalamäki
Project Manager
Wärtsilä Finland Oy
firstname.lastname@wartsila.com
Tel. +358 10 709 2478
