Caterpillar and Oliveira Energia have signed an agreement for the purchase and installation of 34 Cat C175-20 diesel generator sets to supply more than 100 MW of continuous power for Eletrobras Distribuição Roraima, the government-operated electrical utility serving the Brazilian state of Roraima.
The C175-20 generator sets will be installed at a new 8700 square metre facility in the state capital Boa Vista. With each unit delivering 3600 kVA of power at 13.8 kV, they will serve as the primary source of power for this municipality of 266 000 residents in northern Brazil. The generator sets will replace power previously supplied from Venezuela, allowing the region to become more self-sufficient and spurring economic and social development.
The C175-20 generator sets have been manufactured in Lafayette, USA. Shipments began in July, with the final group of units arriving in Boa Vista in mid-September. They travelled 600 miles by boat up the Amazon to the inland port of Manaus, and then another 460 miles by truck through the Amazon jungle and indigenous territories to Boa Vista. Oliveira Energia plans to open the plant in December of 2014.
The C175-20 generator set produces up to 4 MW of power for standby applications, which Cat says is the greatest output of any single high-speed diesel generator set available on the market today and exhibits the highest power density. A single 4 MW C175-20 represents a 55 % reduction in footprint when compared with two 2 MW Cat 3516B generator sets, and a 28 % reduction when compared with a 4 MW Cat 3612.
It can be used for standby and also for peak shaving/grid stiffening, as prime power for remote work sites, and as the sole source of power to remote communities.
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