Wärtsilä Supplying Russian Pulp Plant Power

Wärtsilä will supply equipment for a 55 MW combined heat and power plant to Solikamsk, Russia, in order to modernize the Solikamsk Thermal Power Station.

Wärtsilä’s scope covers an extended engineering and equipment delivery (EEQ), and includes Wärtsilä 50SG engines running on natural gas.

The Wärtsilä 50SG is a four-stroke engine that works according to the Otto principle and the lean burn process. The engine runs at 500 or 514 rpm for 50 or 60 Hz applications, and produces 18 810 and 19 260 kW of mechanical power respectively. This represents maximum electrical power outputs of 18.32 MW and 18.76 MW respectively, at which the Wärtsilä 50SG has an efficiency of 48.6% at the generator terminals.

The equipment will be delivered during 2017 and is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2018 after the modernization of Solikamsk Thermal Power Station has been completed. The order, valued at over 30 million euros, was booked in December 2016.

The modernized power plant is located on the premises of Solikamskbumprom in the city of Solikamsk, the Perm area in the eastern part of Russia. The customer, Solikamskbumprom, is a producer of pulp and paper specializing in newsprint paper. Some 70-80% of the production is exported. The additional electricity produced by Solikamsk Thermal Power Station will be used to power the process at the paper production facilities.

By modernizing its own power plant, the customer will be able to decrease the cost of electricity and thus improve its competitiveness in the market, Wärtsilä said. Apart from providing additional electric power to the mill, the Wärtsilä power plant will also produce heat to the facilities, thereby creating additional cost savings. The new power plant will increase reliability of heat supply to the city at a high overall efficiency during winter.

Dmitry Yashin, director of power supply and energy efficiency of Solikamskbumprom, said that trust in the Finnish technology and advanced technical features were important when deciding to go with Wärtsilä.

“After commissioning the new equipment we will be able to save electricity and reduce heat costs, which is important to us. We value and trust Finnish products and technology and Wärtsilä’s fuel efficient and operationally reliable equipment was a very good fit for this project.”

“The pulp and paper industry is thriving in Russia and we see opportunities for more industrial power plants with the similar equipment. We are happy to work with Solikamskbumprom and are looking forward to helping them to become more competitive,” said Andrey Nikitin, Senior Business Development Manager at Wärtsilä Energy Solutions.

Wärtsilä has a strong presence in Russia with more than 1300 MW of installed power generation. Globally, Wärtsilä’s installed base is more than 60 GW in 176 countries.