Gamesa Electric -a Gamesa subsidiary specialising in electric industrial equipment- expects to generate 40% of its sales from these sectors in 2013
The company has more than 30 years' experience developing proprietary technology in the power electronics industry, along with a track record spanning more than 80 years as a manufacturer of electric motors and generators
Gamesa Electric, which has factories in Spain and China, is developing projects in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa, and its international business now accounts for 44% of its sales
Gamesa is poised for further technological and industrial diversification in sectors including hydroelectricity, solar photovoltaic, electric traction and marine propulsion as the company capitalises on its technological and industrial success of recent years and the experience of its subsidiary, Gamesa Electric, in the electric equipment design and manufacturing business.
With manufacturing plants in Spain and China and a global sales and maintenance network, Gamesa Electric is developing projects in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa in the power electronics and electric motors and generators markets, its two main business lines.
Gamesa Electric currently derives 25% of its sales from industrial markets such as hydropower, solar photovoltaic, nuclear and marine, while its forecasts indicate that in 2013 these sectors will account for approximately 40% of its sales.
Technological knowledge and manufacturing know-how
"We have invested in technology and manufacturing development in recent years and gained wide-ranging know-how and competitiveness in the electric components field, an achievement underpinned by our track record in the wind power business," said Gamesa Operations Managing Director Ricardo Chocarro.
"This process has enabled us to make a qualitative leap forward in our technical and manufacturing capabilities, which we now want to leverage and capitalise on more intensely, devoting more resources to other industrial businesses in which we have been a player for many years."
To this end, Gamesa Electric has more than 30 years' experience developing proprietary technology in the power electronics industry, along with a more than 80 years in the electricity motor and generator business.
Focus on hydroelectricity, marine energy, solar photovoltaic, power converters and large rectifiers
"We work in a wide range of markets, so we want to focus on three or four business lines: developing generators for the hydropower market and motors for the nuclear industry and marine propulsion, all of them fields in which we are leaders," said Gamesa Electric Director Juan Barandiarán.
In the power electronics sector, the company operates primarily in solar photovoltaic in international markets -Gamesa Electric has installed more than 1,500 photovoltaic central inverters worldwide to date- and sells solutions to facilitate the integration of renewable energy to power grids (active voltage/reactive power regulators, voltage dip offset equipment, active harmonic filters, etc.). In addition, it supplies the traditional electric generation market (nuclear and combined cycles), with UPS (uninterrupted power systems) and high power and high-availability rectifiers.
Markets outside Spain currently account for 44% of Gamesa Electric's sales. As for the industry breakdown by region, the company operates in the hydropower business not only in Europe, but also in countries including Canada and nations in Latin America. In marine energy, it is studying opportunities in northern Europe, South Korea and Indonesia, among others.
India, China, Eastern Europe, the United States, Latin America generally and South Africa are target markets for Gamesa Electric in the photovoltaic industry. To this end, the first quarter of 2013 will see the market launch of the company's latest development: the 1 MW PLUS central inverter, a water-cooled device for utility-scale PV plants.
Most recent projects
Gamesa Electric in 2012 has been awarded several major supply contracts for its main business lines.
In the photovoltaic solar market, the company has forged commercial relationships with, among other firms, China's Sky Solar, a leading international photovoltaic developer, to supply 10 of its PLUS range inverters, each with capacity of 500 kW, for a PV solar farm in Bulgaria. Meanwhile, it has ventured into India, a new market, commissioning its first sites.
As for the hydroelectric market, in which Gamesa Electric is a European leader, in recent months the company has signed deals to supply generators in Turkey, Canada, Norway, Italy and Spain and has secured its first contract on the African continent.
Additionally, it is in the process of commissioning the Ashta hydroelectric power plant in Albania, powered by 90 submerged permanent magnet generators, as part of Andritz's Hydromatrix project.