Industrial technology company Wärtsilä has signed a five-year maintenance agreement covering 169.5 MW of power generation for two Moroccan power plants owned and operated by Moroccan utility Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau potable (ONEE).
This agreement is a renewal of a previous five-year contract for the power plants in Tan Tan and Dakhla, in southern Morocco. Each of these two emergency plants operates with Wärtsilä 46 engines, the company says.
The scope of the agreement includes supply of spare parts, major overhauls and full technical support. It takes effect in the first quarter of this year and will minimise the total cost of ownership of the plants’ Wärtsilä assets.
“Our customers value maintenance agreements as they ensure the efficiency, reliability and availability of the power plants. We are proud to have been awarded a renewal of this agreement and continue our long-term relationship with ONEE," says Wärtsilä Energy Operations Africa director Patrick Borstner.
The Tan Tan and Dakhla plants are expected to be used to balance renewable-energy production with sustainable fuels. Morocco is using an increasingly large share of renewable energy, and the Wärtsilä engine technology can reach full output in a matter of minutes to balance the intermittent supply of renewables.
Morocco also has an ambitious hydrogen development plan, for which the Wärtsilä engines could eventually be converted to operate with, the company says.