MAN upgrading Caribbean power plant

The conversion of five MAN 48/60 engines to modern MAN 51/60 types will increase fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions at a power plant on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, MAN Energy Solution said. (Image: MAN Energy Solutions)

MAN Energy Solutions is upgrading five engines used in power generation in the Caribbean to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, the company said.

Caribbean Utilities Co. hired MAN PrimeServ, MAN Energy Solutions’ after-sales brand, to upgrade the engines as part of a so-called lifecycle upgrade. The three MAN 12V48/60A and two MAN 14V48/60B engines will be converted to modern MAN 51/60 types. The five gensets power the North Sound Road Power Plant on Grand Cayman and have a total capacity of 64 MW.

Completion of the retrofit will bring the five engines, which have already been in operation for more than 80 000 hours, up to the technical standard of a newbuild MAN 51/60, in the process achieving significant reductions in fuel consumption, and CO2 and pollutant emissions, the company said.

Richard Hew, CUC’s president and CEO, said the lifecycle upgrade will help make the engines significantly more fuel efficient and enable them to be upgraded for use with low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Once the necessary LNG infrastructure is in place on the island, the project will allow CUC to transition the power plant from its current diesel-fuel operation to LNG. As a result of the lifecycle upgrade, further conversion of the engines to dual-fuel operation will be effortless and flexible as 80% of the required adjustments have already been made. This step will lead to a further reduction in fuel consumption and emissions.

“This lifecycle upgrade is an important investment in the future of the power plant,” said Bernd Siebert, Head of Retrofits & Upgrades at MAN Prime SERV. “On the one hand, the engines will once again be as reliable as new engines; while on the other, we are simultaneously preparing the power plant for future operation with climate-neutral fuels such as methanol or synthetic natural gas. This is because the 51/60 engine type will facilitate further conversion to alternative fuels in the next step, thus future-proofing the plant.”

The LCU project will be implemented over a 24-month period, beginning in November 2023. CUC has assembled a cross-functional team of engineers and foreign suppliers that will work closely with MAN PrimeServ.