Clarke Energy Providing 14 Jenbachers For Hybrid Project

Clarke Energy, INNIO’s distributor and service partner for Jenbacher gas engines, will provide 14 Jenbacher J624 gas engines to improve the efficiency and flexibility of Alinta Energy’s gas-fired Newman Power Station in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The 60 MW of gas-fired generation will support Alinta Energy’s Pilbara operations, including the Chichester Solar Gas Hybrid project (comprising 60 MWe of solar photovoltaic generation and 60 kms of transmission line), when complete.

Clarke Energy will deliver the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) for the new gas fired power generation facility which will utilize the Jenbacher J624 generators, each with a capacity of 4.41 MW, providing a total capacity of 61.67MWe.

The company said the 4.4MWe engines are well suited to this application providing a flexible combination of turn-down, efficiency and the rapid load response required for integration with solar. The Jenbacher J624 gas engines are also more compact than others, which will help to reduce the risks of working at heights present with larger models.

“Safety is number one for us and Clarke Energy has a solid track record of safely providing high quality solar and gas fired power integration solutions,” said Alinta Energy’s Executive Director Merchant Energy, Ken Woolley. “Their technical expertise will also be critical to help us deliver on a very exciting program of work in the region.”

Clarke Energy will design and construct two separate power houses, with cooling radiators at mounted roof level due to the limited space constraints of the Newman Power Station site. The Clarke Energy scope of work also includes supply of a 66/11kV export transformer and brownfield integration with the existing 66kV substation.

Following completion of the EPC works, Clarke Energy will operate and maintain the facility for Alinta Energy under a long-term contract utilising their team of factory trained service technicians and operators.

“As an industry-leading EPC contractor and OEM Distributor for Jenbacher Gas Engines with a long history of delivering clean power solutions, we are very pleased to have been chosen to increase the reliability and efficiency of the Newman Power Station,” said Managing Director of Clarke Energy Australia, Greg Columbus. “The Jenbacher J624 high-speed, high-efficiency and dependable gas engine technology fits well with Alinta Energy’s need to provide reliable, efficient power while having minimal environmental impact. The completion of this project will increase the capacity of Jenbacher gas engines installed in the region to ~900MW.”