Alstom opens wind tower factory in Brazil

Aug 8, 2013 - French heavy engineering group Alstom (EPA:ALO) yesterday launched a wind tower manufacturing unit in Brazil's southernmost Rio Grande do Sul state.

The factory, with a capacity to manufacture 120 steel towers per year, is located in Canoas, where Alstom already has a transformers producing plant. The new unit will supply not only Brazil's southern region, but also Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, the president of Alstom Brasil, Marcos Costa, said.

Initially, the facility will produce towers for the first wind power complex of local Odebrecht Energia, which will have 108-MW capacity. Furthermore, a few months ago, Alstom closed an agreement to deliver wind turbines for 513 MW of wind parks, owned by Brazilian renewable energy developer Renova Energia (SAO:RNEW11). The order is part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the supply and maintenance of 440 onshore turbines with capacities of between 2.7 MW and 3 MW each, for a total capacity of at least 1,200 MW.

The Canoas facility is Alstom's second wind tower manufacturing unit in Brazil, after the one in Camacari, northeastern Bahia state, launched in November 2011.

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