Alstom inaugurates its first wind tower factory in Latin America

Installed in Canoas in Rio Grande do Sul State, in the southern part of Brazil, the site will have the capacity to produce 120 steel towers per year, enough to supply approximately 350 MW of electricity.

This factory will supply the southern region of Latin America, a market currently experiencing strong growth. The ceremony was attended by Rio Grande do Sul State Governor Tarso Genro, and representatives of other local authorities.  “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. We have a long and established history in the wind markets of Latin America, and we continue to invest in the region to meet its growing power needs,” explained Alstom Brazil Country President Marcos Costa.  It is Alstom’s second wind manufacturing unit Latin America, following the commissioning of its first wind nacelle plant in Camaçari, Bahia, in November 2011.

The Camaçari unit has the capacity to manufacture 600 MW per year.  Spanning approximately 11,000 m², beside Alstom’s grid power transformers and shunt reactors, 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 €1 billion in orders for Alstom, through the installation of at least 1.2 GW in projects.  The companies have already signed a contract for 513 MW as part of the framework agreement.

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