Power generation and transmission provider Alstom says it has opened a wind tower factory in southern Brazil, the company's first such plant in Latin America.
According to Alstom, the site will have the capacity to produce 120 steel towers per year, enough to supply approximately 350 MW of electricity. The factory will supply the southern region of Latin America, a market currently experiencing strong growth. It is the company's second Latin America-based wind manufacturing unit. In 2011, the company commissioned a wind nacelle plant in the Bahia state of Camacari. The unit has the capacity to manufacture 600 MW of wind turbines per year.
‘The geographical position of the plant allows us to be close to our customers and enables important interaction with other countries such as Argentina, Chile and Uruguay,’ explains Marcos Costa, Alstom Brazil's president.
The new plant will employ 90 people and could generate an additional 250 indirect jobs in the region. The Canoas plant will produce towers dedicated to the Corredor do Senandes complex, the first wind project of Odebrecht Energia which will have 108 MW of installed capacity.
A few months ago, Alstom signed a partnership with Renova Energia. The agreement – the biggest within the global onshore wind market – could potentially generate around one billion euros in orders for Alstom, through the installation of at least 1.2 GW in projects, Alstom notes. The companies have already signed a contract for 513 MW as part of the frame agreement.
