IC Power, Peru sign $1b. power agreement

Israel Corporation to establish, operate 590-megawatt backup power plant in South American country.

By SHARON UDASIN
Peru power plant 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Peru power plant 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
IC Power, the electricity arm of the Israel Corporation, won a $1 billion Peruvian government tender on Friday to establish and operate a 590-megawatt backup power plant in the South American country.
Issued as part of a Peruvian national effort to develop the south of the country, the tender is part of a larger plan to encourage electricity production and the conveyance of natural gas to the region, according to information from IC Power. The company’s South American subsidiary, Inkia Energy, will build a dual natural gas turbine and diesel capable power plant in the city of Mollendo near Peru’s southern tip – a project that should be complete by mid-2016.
Because the construction of natural gas transmission lines in the southern region will take several years, the station in its first stage will generate electricity from diesel, to be purchased by the Peruvian government when backup power is necessary. As the current power consumption in Peru is about 5,500 megawatts, this station will be able to provide a backup equivalent to more than 10 percent of the country’s electricity usage, IC Power explained.
In the second stage of the power station’s life, once gas supply capacity in Peru grows, IC Power said that it plans to convert the facility to operate on a combined cycle natural gas system, and sell electricity to the private sector. Once complete, the output of the plant will grow to be similar to that the 870-megawatt Kallpa Generacion SA facility in the central coastal city of Chilca, the company said.
On Sunday, IC Power also announced that Kallpa Generacion SA – of which IC Power’s Inkia Energy is a 75% stakeholder – will be purchasing an additional 193-megawatt gas facility located within its main site’s vicinity in Chilca.
In addition to its participating in the forthcoming Mollendo site and the Chilca facilities, Inkia Energy holds a 75% stake in the Cerro Del Aguila SA company developing a 520-megawatt Peruvian hydropower plant. The Israeli subsidiary also holds a 21.2% stake in the Edegel SAA company, which operates 1,668 megawatts worth of hydropower and natural gas plants in central Peru.