Wärtsilä says its newly launched Modular Block is a reliable and efficient solution for sustainable power generation, with fast delivery and installation.

The power plant solution is a pre-fabricated, modularly configured, and expandable enclosure for Wärtsilä medium-speed 34SG gas engine generators. Aside from the gas engine generator, the Wärtsilä Modular Block concept’s enclosure incorporates engine-specific auxiliary units, enabling a reduction in on-site installation time from “several months to a few weeks”, depending on the full scope of supply, Wärtsilä said.

“The concept thus makes Wärtsilä’s advanced medium-speed engine technology available for applications where it would not otherwise be viable with a conventional custom designed permanent building,” the company said, while adding that medium-speed engine technology has inherently higher efficiency and lower lifecycle costs than containerised high-speed engines or gas turbine solutions.

Wärtsilä says it can offer the Wärtsilä Modular Block as a full engineering, procurement and construction project, with the solution expandable to accommodate increased energy demand and to respond to fast-growing customer business needs. The concept also enables dismantling and relocation, meaning it offers new business models, such as power as a service or rentals.

On top of this, the Wärtsilä Modular Block is easy to integrate with renewable energy and storage systems, according to the company. “It is ideal for providing grid stability and balancing when integrating renewable energy sources with intermittent production.”

The flexibility of the concept enables timely expansion with minimal front-end investments, or relocation to accommodate changing power generating requirements, Wärtsilä said.

“This, combined with the high efficiency of the power generation asset, the minimised on-site installation time, and its configurability with external systems, makes the Wärtsilä Modular Block an excellent solution for many power generation enterprises,” the company said. “It can be a perfect fit for industrial customers or utilities, and for independent power producers associated with them.”

Antti Kämi, Vice President, Engine Power Plants, Wärtsilä Energy Business, said the Wärtsilä Modular Block takes the company’s experience and know-how in prefabricated modular power plants to the “next level, combining modularity and ease of use with superior medium-speed engine performance”.

Kämi added: “Modular Block, being a cost-effective solution that is configurable to different needs, scalable and re-deployable, brings fast and reliable power wherever needed.”

Wärtsilä introduced the Wärtsilä Modular Block at this week’s Africa Energy Forum, being held at the Lisbon Congress Centre, Portugal.