11 July 2012 - After the UK, Nigeria is the biggest market for Guinness stout, and brewer Diageo achieved energy independence in Nigeria five years ago when it purchased four GE Jenbacher gas engines to power its three breweries in that country. The company recently added two further engines for brewing plants in Lagos and Benin City. Together, these engines will generate a combined 20 MW and about 9.0 MW of heat for Diageo.

These engines use natural gas, which is some 80% cheaper than diesel in Nigeria. Patrick Regan, global sales leader for GE Food and Beverage Solutions, says, “We can typically expect a gas engine like the one being installed in Lagos to pay for itself within just 18 to 24 months.”

The two new 3.3 MW CHP plants at the brewing plants will each feature a natural gas-powered Jenbacher J620 gas engine and a backup diesel engine from a different supplier. In 2008, Diageo first installed a Jenbacher J620 cogeneration unit at its Guinness Ogba brewery, where the system was connected to a waste-heat boiler to produce steam for the brewing process. The second installation in 2010 was configured to use the exhaust heat directly into an absorption chiller to provide a source of cooling for the plant. Also in 2008, Diageo installed its first two Jenbacher J620 cogeneration systems at its Guinness Benin City brewery. In addition to producing steam, the Benin City brewery's Jenbacher unit was connected to an absorption chiller to create chilled water from the engine's exhaust heat.