Dominican Republic’s energy transition driving new business for Wärtsilä

The Dominican Republic’s proposed 2025-28 national energy plan highlights that system flexibility will become increasingly relevant as the share of renewables rises.

The government’s plan is for clean energies to account for 25% of electricity production by 2030.

Metrics from power grid coordinator OC show that renewables accounted for nearly 14% of generation in November.

Wärtsilä has had a presence in the Caribbean nation since 2021, and the energy transition push has opened further opportunities to introduce flexible and modular natural gas-fired plants.

“We are fully aware that in the Dominican Republic the penetration of renewable energies is increasing… we are firm defenders of this commitment,” Wärtsilä’s Miguel Madrid told BNamericas.

The senior sales manager for lifecycle services who oversees the Americas central region said that the company’s plants can support sudden changes in frequency produced by the intermittency of renewables.

“The commitment to flexible plants that can run on natural gas, that support the transition towards renewable energies, is the penetration scheme in which we are envisioning and the future energy development scheme for the Dominican Republic,” he added.

Madrid said that the technology can be combined with renewables and storage as well as thermoelectric plants, and that Wärtsilä supports clients with gas supply options if needed.

“Internal combustion engines have played a fundamental role and will continue to be vital in this new stage, where they will serve as a cold reserve and provide flexibility to the system,” according to the 2025-28 roadmap.

Also read Gas forecast to account for over half of Dominican Rep’s power output in 2028

November power production (Source: OC)