Alstom Renewable Power has signed a letter of intent with Casa dos Ventos, one of the largest Brazilian wind power generation developers, to provide wind turbines for new farms in the state of Rio Grande do Norte (northeastern Brazil). Under this €230 million agreement, Alstom will supply 68 wind ECO 122 wind turbines and operation and maintenance for wind farms located in João Câmara. The projects in the scope of this agreement represent more than 180MW of output capacity. The contract is expected to be signed by the end of September.
The wind turbines will be produced at Alstom Renewable Power’s manufacturing unit at Camaçari, in Bahia state, opened in November 2011. The factory has a 300 MW output capacity per year, with one work shift. A second shift will start working during the first semester of 2013, bringing the capacity to 600 MW per year.
Wind power is the source of power generation with the highest growth rate in Brazil. Around 7 GW of new wind power infrastructure has already been contracted to be built. Brazil’s wind power potential is estimated at 300 GW and the country’s power generation major players expect to build a further 2.5 GW per year until 2020.
“This agreement with Casa dos Ventos is an important step to consolidate Alstom’s presence in the Brazilian and Latin American wind markets. The company is constantly developing its technologies, its offer and its industrial footprint to meet the market expectations in this area”, stated Marcos Costa, Alstom Brazil Country President. “The company has already installed or is installing more than 2.300 wind turbines worldwide, the equivalent to a total capacity of over 3,200 MW. Alstom’s offer in the wind sector consolidates the company’s positioning to provide solutions reducing the emissions of CO2”, added Jérôme Pécresse, President of Alstom Renewable Power.
In addition to the Casa dos Ventos agreement, Alstom has already secured three contracts in Brazil’s wind power market. The first one, worth € 100 million, was signed in July 2010 with the Brazilian company Desenvix, a subsidiary of the group Engevix, for the construction of a 90 MW complex in Bahia, including 10 years of operation and maintenance. The Brotas complex is composed of three wind farms equipped with 57 Alstom ECO 86 wind turbines, with a power of 1.67 MW per unit.
In 2011, the company signed a contract worth approximately €200 million for the construction and maintenance of three wind farms for Brasventos S.A., which will be installed in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. The order includes supply, installation, commissioning and long-term maintenance of the ECO 86 wind turbines.
Finally, in 2012, Alstom signed a contract with Odebrecht Energia to equip four wind farms in southern Brazil. The Corredor do Senandes II, III and IV, and Vento Aragano I wind farms, located in Rio Grande do Sul, will have a total capacity of 108 MW. Alstom will supply, install and commission 40 ECO 122 wind turbines, with a power per unit of 2.7 MW. In addition to the wind turbines, Alstom will be in charge of the supply and assembly of the electrical systems and substations of the entire complex.
