GE bags largest wind deal in Brazil with 360 MW turbine order - report

General Electric Co (NYSE:GE) has recently booked its largest deal in Latin America with a contract to deliver 156 wind turbines to a 360 MW project in Brazil, Jean-Claude Robert, GE’s general manager for renewable energy in Latin America told Bloomberg in an interview.

.@generalelectric goes big in Brazil with its largest ever, $427 million wind agreement http://t.co/OtBwEEivCA pic.twitter.com/731TOzF7KX

— BloombergNEF (@BloombergNEF) August 10, 2015

The buyer - Brazilian renewable-energy developer Casa dos Ventos Energias Renovaveis SA., is currently in talks with Brazil development bank BNDES to secure financing for the deal which is valued at BRL 1.5 billion (USD 428m/EUR390m) by energy consultant Thymos Energia.

The Sao Paulo-based developer has 1.1 GW of wind farms under construction or in operation, and has sold 3.5 gigawatts of projects to other companies.

The 360 MW wind farm, called Ventos do Araripe III, is located in Brazil’s northeastern states of Piaui and Pernambuco.

Casa dos Ventos has secured power purchase agreements for the wind complex in three energy auctions in 2013 and 2014. It is scheduled to begin commercial operation in April 2017.

The wind farm will use 74 of GE’s 2.3-107 turbines and 82 of its 2.3-116 model. GE will also provide operations and maintenance service under a 10-year contract.

Wind power was GE’s fastest growing business in Brazil last year, selling about 500 MW of turbines. The company expects about 40 % growth this year, surpassing 700 MW. The company is also planning to build two new wind-turbine service centers in northeast Brazil to support Casa dos Ventos projects and other potential customers in the region.

Brazil is one of the most promising onshore markets for wind energy, for at least the next five years. The Brazilian wind industry has the objective to maintain growth of at least 2 GW per year and possibly provide 12% of national generation capacity by 2023.

(BRL 1 = USD 0.285 / EUR 0.261)

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