New LNG power plant being tested.

Testing has commenced for the recently constructed 47-megawatt power plant that uses Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), which was erected by the Antigua Power Company Ltd. under an agreement with the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA).

APUA has released a statement stating that they are presently working with their partners at APCL to determine the most effective way to commission the new 5-engine, 47-megawatt Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Plant.

On Wednesday, November 22, 2023, the officials of the APC and APUA had a meeting to discuss the system outage that occurred on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, due to the LNG plant tripping offline while carrying out a performance test as part of the commissioning process.

During the performance test, a single engine failure was reported due to mechanical issues.

At the time of the system outage, the load demand was estimated to be 50 megawatts, while the power generation output from the LNG Plant was reported to be 46.5 megawatts.

Unfortunately, the single engine at the Black Pine Power Plant was not enough to balance the electricity demand with power generation. APUA indicated that they anticipate further performance and reliability tests to be carried out until Friday, November 24, 2023.

The release also states that during the testing process, technical or mechanical issues may arise, which could increase the likelihood of power outages.

While the plant will mainly operate on regasified LNG, it will use diesel in the interim until the LNG terminal is completed early in 2024.

By using regasified LNG, the cleanest of all fossil fuels, there will be a 40% reduction in carbon production, which is in line with APUA and the government’s plan to reduce carbon emissions.

The introduction of this additional plant will enable increased capacity for generation while ensuring a more consistent delivery of electricity to customers, alongside future Renewable Energy Solutions.