Our team provided environmental and air permitting and engineer-procure-construct (EPC) services for the Denton Energy Center, a 225-megawatt (MW) facility with 12 natural-gas-fired Wärtsilä 18.8-MW reciprocating engine generators.
The Wärtsilä 18V50SG reciprocating engine technology is configured to provide flexible, fast-start power to Denton Municipal Electric as the city-owned utility progressively integrates more renewable power resources into its network.
The Denton Energy Center is a key component of the Renewable Denton Plan, which is supporting the utility's move toward a green, low-emission power system and aiming to provide its members with approximately 70 percent renewable energy by 2019. Because of supply fluctuations from renewables, the Denton Energy Center will be used to follow the renewable load and stabilize the grid.
The center is one of the most flexible and efficient generating facilities in the industry due to its modular nature. Each Wärtsilä engine can be dispatched independently to quickly scale output up or down with minimal sacrifice in peak efficiency. The flexibility will become increasingly important as Denton adds intermittent wind and solar power to its energy portfolio. The plant is also one of the cleanest natural gas-fired facilities in the industry, utilizing selective catalytic reduction to minimize pollutants.