The project for the installation of the new Ushuaia power generation plant has formally entered its international transport logistics stage.

According to information provided by the Government of Tierra del Fuego , the different components that will make up the complex have already begun their transfer by sea to the southern tip of our country, with an estimated navigation period of approximately two months until arriving at the local port.

The initiative falls within the framework of existing agreements between the provincial state-owned company Terra Ignis SA and the Chinese-owned consortium Austral Petróleo, Gas y Electricidad SA

The official announcement regarding the project's progress, made by the Tierra del Fuego government and conveyed through statements by Energy Minister Gabriela Castillo , indicates that the loading of materials began at the "port of Yang Su." This appears to be a misspelling of the port of Yangzhou —from which the shipment would have originated—located in the port and industrial province of Jiangsu , on the east coast of the People's Republic of China .

江苏 ( Jiangsu ) concentrates the main shipyards, heavy manufacturing factories and cargo terminals on the Yangtze River Delta that channel infrastructure shipments to international markets.

What equipment is on the way?

Contrary to publications describing the arrival of a "combined cycle turbine" , a detailed analysis of the components registered at industrial dispatch plants in China reveals different technical characteristics compared to the conventional turbogeneration equipment being shipped to Ushuaia:

·         Identification of the generating fleet: The documented images of the facility demonstrate that the main power supply does not consist of a traditional gas turbine. It consists of modular blocks of high-power internal combustion reciprocating generator sets , equipped with V-shaped cylinder blocks, turbochargers, and alternators mounted on a steel chassis.

·         Number of units: The photographic record of the interior of the factory facilities of origin allows us to verify the presence on the assembly line of at least four independent generating units of identical design, prepared to operate simultaneously or in stages.

·         Peripheral components and logistics: The lot sent by sea also includes large vertical radiators or heat exchangers for the closed-circuit cooling system, a medium/high voltage outdoor electrical distribution transformer and auxiliary structures protected with airtight film or arranged on heavy transport trucks.

Refurbished equipment versus new units

Energy engineering strictly classifies the useful life cycles of industrial power generation equipment. According to technical consultations carried out by this publication, the visual appearance of the power units and the nature of these contracts under the current financing scheme raise key variables regarding the condition of the equipment:

While the maritime transfer to the intervened port of Ushuaia will take about 60 days, the construction company continues with the foundations and concrete work on the assigned site, with a government that prays that the low temperatures of the Fuegian winter will not stop the works for the final assembly of the plant.

Sources:

Government of Tierra del Fuego AeIAS

Radio Universidad UTN Río Grande