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The largest number in an equipment headline is rarely the only number a power project needs. Engine mechanical output, alternator capacity, generator-set duty rating and net power delivered to a facility have different boundaries. A credible equipment comparison states those boundaries before adding capacities together.
Start with kW, kVA and power factor
Kilowatts measure real power. Kilovolt-amperes measure apparent power. At a stated power factor, kW = kVA × power factor. For example, a 2,000 kVA alternator at 0.8 power factor corresponds to 1,600 kW. That arithmetic does not establish whether the engine, cooling and controls can continuously support the load.
A transformer’s 2,600 kVA nameplate is a transfer-capacity rating under specified conditions. It does not mean the site has 2.6 MW of utility service, and it should not be added to generator output when describing total generation.
State the operating duty
Standby, prime and continuous ratings are not interchangeable. Ask for the manufacturer’s applicable duty definition, load profile, ambient conditions, fuel specification, maintenance assumptions and any operating-hour limitations. Do not relabel a standby machine as a continuous-duty unit because the engine model looks similar.
The Cummins-powered pod proposal illustrates a component-versus-package distinction. Its listed engine and alternator ratings are higher than the offered 1 MW electrical contribution per generator set. The commercial package rating remains 2 MW for two sets, subject to the supplier’s final technical and acceptance documentation.
Separate gross output from net output
A plant consumes some of its own power. Cooling fans, pumps, gas compression, ventilation, controls and emissions systems can reduce what reaches the load. Transformer and distribution losses can reduce it further. Define whether a guarantee applies at alternator terminals, a plant bus or the contractual delivery point.
Fuel quality, gas pressure, altitude, ambient temperature, cooling conditions and emissions limits may affect the achievable result. The project needs an OEM-approved operating envelope, not a headline adjusted by an unexplained rule of thumb.
Keep modernization targets visibly conditional
For the Wärtsilä UK and Spain opportunity, the supplied schedule reports 27.94 MW of legacy package output. The 31 MW* headline is an indicative modernization target. The underlying 84 × 380 kW-per-cylinder calculation equals 31.92 MW, but it is not a confirmed electrical or net-site guarantee.
Wärtsilä’s rehabilitation pathway calls for a newly agreed performance baseline and acceptance tests. The final output, heat rate or efficiency and emissions terms must define fuel, ambient conditions, auxiliary loads and measurement methods. Existing 50 Hz equipment also requires a defined engineering scope for a 60 Hz project; a frequency change is not merely a label change.
A practical comparison sheet
| Record | Question to answer |
|---|---|
| Existing nameplate | Which component does it describe, and is it photographed or documented? |
| Duty | What operating profile is permitted at the stated rating? |
| Fuel and ambient basis | Which conditions apply, and what derating is required? |
| Net delivery point | Which auxiliaries and electrical losses have been deducted? |
| Modernization target | Is it planning arithmetic, an engineering estimate or a contracted guarantee? |
| Acceptance | Who tests it, by which procedure, and what happens if the result falls short? |
EnergyEquipment.com keeps existing ratings and conditional rehabilitation targets separate. The goal is to make an opportunity easy to find while giving buyers a clear path from the headline to the evidence and the final operating commitment.
Sources and scope
Owner-supplied Wärtsilä equipment deck and OEM supporting Q&A, 23 September 2026; Cummins-powered pod deck, 9 September 2026; Eaton offering, September 2026. Unit conversions and examples are explanatory calculations. Application suitability and final performance require engineering review and contractual definition.