MAN to build CHP plant in Honduras

MAN Energy Solutions has won an EPC contract to set up in Choloma, Honduras what it says will be a highly efficient, combined heat and power plant for Progressive Energy, the energy arm of the ElcaTex Group. The plant will be powered by 3 × MAN 18V51/60 engines with an overall capacity of 54.8 MW, generating power and steam for a nearby textile factory.

MAN will take an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) role in the project and will be responsible for the construction of the entire plant.

For Mario Canahuati, Corporative Energy director at Progressive Energy, this represents an important milestone in its corporate strategy: “For textile manufacturing, steam is as important as power, which is why we were looking for a solution to efficiently produce electricity as well as steam to drive our manufacturing footprint. MAN Energy Solutions ... has developed a highly-efficient CHP solution that is tailored to our needs. Thanks to the new plant, we will be able to increase our energy efficiency while becoming more autonomous in our steam supply chain.”

Thorsten Dradrach, head of Sales for Power Plants in the Americas, MAN Energy Solutions, said: “MAN Energy Solutions offers the widest CHP generation portfolio available on the market and we are very happy to help Progressive Energy to maximise ... overall efficiency. Our modular CHP plant concept which is scalable from 7MW upwards is amajor additional benefit we can provide to industrial customers as part of their plant solution.”

Scheduled conversion to gas

The engines will burn heavy fuel oil when the new plant starts operations, but Progressive Energy plans to convert them to gas operation as soon as a secure supply of LNG (liquefied natural gas) becomes available.

“The Central American market is experiencing a major trend towards gas driven power solutions using various gas supply infrastructure models,” commented Carina Viola, sales director for Central America at MAN Energy Solutions. “This is why we decided to select our 18V51/60 engine for this market environment as it provides the highest efficiency and fuel flexibility. The switch to gas will reduce the plant’s emissions even further.”