Wärtsilä Corporation won a turnkey contract in January 2007 to supply a 39 MWe power plant on the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte. The contract, worth approximately € 33 million, was awarded by Electricité de Mayotte (EDM), and the plant is due to start producing electricity for the grid in mid 2008.
Located in the Mozambique Channel near the Comoros islands, about half way between northern Madagascar and Mozambique, the island of Mayotte has an area of 374 km2 and a population of just over 200 000. It is administered as an overseas territory of France. Its economy is based on the exports of agricultural crops such as vanilla, perfume essence, coffee and copra, as well as on fishing for lobsters and shrimps, and the raising of livestock. However, Mayotte is not self-sufficient and must import a large portion of its food requirements.
The new power plant will be built at the port of Longoni where there is a project to build a gas import terminal so that the power plant can be converted to run on natural gas within some five years. Wärtsilä will install five 18-cylinder Wärtsilä 32 generating sets which will run initially on light fuel oil.
The new plant will run on base-load in parallel with the existing Badamiers power plant which has generating units from various manufacturers, including earlier-installed Wärtsilä 32 engines.
The plant will be constructed to a high standard, meeting strict regulations on noise, exhaust emissions, waste water treatment and security. The new plant will also have lower operating costs than the existing plant while still ensuring security of electricity supplies for the island.
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