Wärtsilä will supply a 43 MW gas engine power plant and six-year service agreement to Finnish energy company EPV Energy as part of its programme to add flexible balancing capacity to Finland’s electricity system.
The plant will be built at the existing Mertaniemi power plant site in Lappeenranta and will comprise four Wärtsilä 34SG engines. Wärtsilä will deliver the project under a full engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract. The order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2026.
EPV said the plant will provide fast-starting generation to support the system as the share of variable renewable generation increases. It is intended to supply power during demand peaks, system disturbances and periods when wind or solar output is insufficient.
The engines can rapidly start and stop, allowing the plant to respond to changes in system conditions. The project is the second installation under EPV’s balancing power programme, following a similar plant in Tornio that entered operation in April 2026.
The Mertaniemi plant is scheduled to enter full operation in the first half of 2029.
The six-year service agreement will include maintenance planning and coordination, operational support and predictive maintenance through Wärtsilä’s Expertise Centre. Spare parts, field services and control-system patching are also included.
The engines will initially run on natural gas but are designed to accommodate lower-carbon fuels. EPV plans to introduce biogas and synthetic renewable gases progressively as sufficient supplies become available.
“Flexibility is a key requirement for future power systems,” said Rami Vuola, CEO of EPV Energy. “Weather dependency in electricity generation is increasing while electricity demand continues to grow, creating a greater need for flexible solutions and rapidly dispatchable power generation capacity.”
The companies have not disclosed the project’s investment value or expected annual operating hours.
