Wärtsilä signs 10-year maintenance agreement

Wärtsilä has been signed by Energy Developments Ltd (EDL) to maintain the McArthur River Mine power plant. The 10-year agreement includes a guarantee for the plant’s availability to generate power based on pre-planned scheduled maintenance periods. This is Wärtsilä’s first major service agreement in the country.

The agreement includes technical support as well as condition monitoring and maintenance planning to ensure maximum generating availability. Wärtsilä will have two of the company’s service personnel on site at the power plant on a continuous basis.

The 53 MW power plant is located in the Northern Territory. It supplies power to the McArthur River zinc mine, which is owned by Xstrata. Electricity is generated by six Wärtsilä 34SG engines running on natural gas. The power plant will be fully operational by the end of 2013.

“It was a logical choice to select Wärtsilä as the service provider for this facility. The company not only provided the generating equipment, but also has enormous global experience in efficiently maintaining power plants. We are confident in Wärtsilä’s competence in this area,” said Shane Mclaughlin, EDL executive general manager, project delivery.

“This is a landmark agreement. By providing availability guarantees for a power plant located in a remote area of Australia, we are highlighting the efficiency and reliability of the Wärtsilä equipment, as well as our ability to supply prompt and effective service support,” said Steve Jones, general manager, services sales, Wärtsilä Australia.