Wärtsilä has signed a decarbonisation services deal with Aqualectra, Curaçao’s energy utility, tying payments to performance metrics including CO2 reduction, renewable energy use, cost savings, and reliability.
The five-year agreement will see Wärtsilä optimise the energy generation on the island in collaboration with Aqualectra, providing a significant step towards Curaçao achieving its target of moving from its current 30 per cent renewable capacity to 50 per cent in 2025 and 70 per cent by at least 2027.
Higher renewable energy use and improved fuel efficiency will reduce environmental impact and significantly lower tariffs for the Curaçao community.
To support Curaçao’s decarbonisation, Wärtsilä will use energy storage, grid-balancing engines, and its GEMS platform to optimise island-wide energy use.
The project includes a new 38.4 megawatt (MW) power plant and a 25 MW / 45 MWh energy storage system.
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Anders Lindberg, President of Wärtsilä Energy and EVP Wärtsilä, said: “Accelerating the renewable energy transition is at the heart of our mission, and this deal showcases exactly how our combination of grid balancing engines, energy storage, and optimisation software can work in harmony to enable wind and solar to thrive.
“We expect it to be the first of many, as we collaborate with other micro-grids, such as island nations and even heavy industries such as mining, to tackle decarbonisation head-on.”
According to the company, this partnership will benefit Curaçao residents by providing a more affordable, sustainable, and reliable electricity supply.
