Wärtsilä to support decarbonisation of Madagascan power plant

A wide, overhead shot of the hybrid power plant for the QMM mine.

The hybrid power plant supplies the electricity required to operate the mine and also to the nearby town of Fort Dauphin. (Image source: Wärtsilä)

Wärtsilä, a company at the forefront of the energy transition, has expanded its existing operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement with QUIT Madagascar (QMM) to include a decarbonisation agreement

Currently, the existing O&M agreement covers QMM’s 24MW engine power plant at the ilmenite mineral sands mine at Fort Dauphin in the country. With the signing of the new agreement, Wärtsilä will seek to optimise all assets in the microgrid, including renewable energy usage, in a bid to reduce emissions and capture cost savings.

Specifically, it includes optimised dispatch of the plant’s six Wärtsilä 32 engines and QMM’s battery energy storage and renewable assets with Wärtsilä’s GEMS Digital Energy platform. The GEMS software uses machine learning technology to optimise multiple energy generation assets and ensure maximum utilisation of renewable energy.

Taking energy optimisation to new levels

“The O&M Agreement with Wärtsilä has been in place since 2008 and we have been pleased with Wärtsilä’s performance,” remarked Jean-Francois Richer, director integrated operational services at QMM, part of the Rio Tinto group. “The reliability and efficiency of the power plant are critical to our operations, and we are therefore excited to extend this agreement. The renewed agreement allows us take advantage of Wärtsilä’s competence in power system optimisation and use renewables in the most efficient way, supporting Rio Tinto’s decarbonisation objectives and sustainable mining vision.”

Christoffer Ek, director of decarbonisation services at Wärtsilä Energy, added, “Our Decarbonisation Agreement is taking energy optimisation to a new level by enabling cost savings, a reduced environmental footprint, and higher efficiency. What is more, the partnership is outcome-based with mutual incentives. This is the way forward in making decarbonised operations a viable reality.”

Wärtsilä has demonstrated its efforts to realise the energy transition by pioneering the world’s first large-scale hydrogen-ready engine power plant. Click here to learn more.