Barge Mounted GE 7FA Gas Turbine Power Barges, Margarita I and Josefa Rufina I, in Signal International's Orange Shipyard

Waller Marine, Inc. announced the successful installation of its recently constructed floating power generation barges into a prepared basin at Tacoa, Venezuela. The two 171 MW barges, each supporting a GE 7FA dual fuel industrial gas turbine, will quickly be connected to the grid and soon supply much needed power to Caracas.

The basin will be closed from the ocean this week for the installation of two large structural caissons, each having dimensions of 115' long by 16' wide by 26 ' high and 450 tons, which will be positioned at the entrance of the basin to house the power barges.

Waller Marine, Inc. of Houston, Texas has launched what will become the world's largest floating power generation facility when installed at a designated site in Venezuela. The two power barges, which Waller had constructed at the Signal International Shipyard in Orange, Texas, were transferred from their land based construction locations to the water in August 2010. The generation facility, initially comprising two Floating Power Plants each installed with a single GE 7FA gas turbine generator, were then made ready for ocean transport to Tacoa, Venezuela for installation in a prepared basin that will be protected from the sea. The completed plant will generate much needed power to Caracas and surrounding areas.

This event culminates a Fast Track engineering, procurement and construction program undertaken by Waller to design, construct and deliver the two power barges, each having an output of 171 MW (ISO), within a 180 day period. Constructed to approval and survey of the marine classification society, The American Bureau of Shipping, each barge will represent the largest of it's kind in the world. This first phase of the facility will surpass the capacity of the Waller-designed 220 MW combined cycle floating power plant installed in India in 2001; currently the world's largest.

Barges leaving Corpus Christi, Texas for Venezuela

Margarita I and Josefa Rufina I successfully installed in Tacoa, Venezuela

Barges arriving in Venezuela

Margarita I and Josefa Rufina I in Venezuela

"When we started this project, we always knew this would be a major undertaking and represent one of our most significant challenges," stated David Waller, president of Waller Marine, Inc. "The successful completion of this project will allow an additional 1500 MW average capacity to meet power demands in Caracas."

For phase II of the project, Waller is also preparing two 180,000-barrel fuel storage barges, one fitted with a large reverse osmosis plant, which will moor offshore Tacoa to supply diesel fuel and demineralized water to the floating power plant. It is proposed that the diesel fuel systems will be substituted with gas in the near future by a floating LNG storage and regasification facility designed and constructed by Waller Marine.

Waller Marine is forging new energy efficient initiatives to several countries with its gas to wire technologies that involve relatively small scale floating natural gas liquefaction, regasification and storage systems, as well as, small capacity articulated tug barge transport vessels with LNG fueled propulsion systems. These initiatives have opened up significant opportunities for countries and areas of population to produce lower cost electrical power with simultaneous reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases.

Waller is now in the early stages of engineering the second phase of the construction program, a 260 MW steam cycle barge that will be fitted with heat recovery steam generators and a 260 MW steam turbine generator that will increase the total floating generating facility capacity to 600 MW. Additionally, Waller has engineered and constructed a 360,000 barrel capacity floating fuel storage barge equipped with an 800 gpm reverse osmosis plant to provide fuel and demineralized water to the facility.