Case Study: The Borough of Chambersburg boosts peaking plant reliability with Wärtsilä Energy automation upgrade

The Borough of Chambersburg boosts reliability and powers 21K households with Wärtsilä Energy

The Borough of Chambersburg, a municipal electric utility in Pennsylvania, faced a challenge with the obsolete control system at its 23 MW peaking power plant. The plant, consisting of four Wärtsilä 18V32DF dual-fuel engines, needed more reliable and quicker start-up times to meet the stringent requirements of the local power grid. To address this, they partnered with vendor Wärtsilä Energy for an upgrade.

Wärtsilä Energy implemented a solution by upgrading the plant's engine automation control to the Wärtsilä UNIC C3 system. This tailored upgrade, completed in phases between 2014 and 2016, ensured seamless communication between the new and existing systems. The results included increased reliability, faster ramp-up times, minimized start failures, lower NOx emissions, and a slightly improved heat rate, making the plant more valuable to the grid operator and helping to lower net energy costs for the community.

The Borough of Chambersburg