GE Awarded 545 Megawatts of Commitments to Power 26 Brazil Wind Farms

SCHENECTADY, N.Y - GE (NYSE: GE) won 545 megawatts (MW) of orders for wind turbines in Brazil's A-3 auction, which was held on November 18. The total amount of energy auctioned was 867 MW and GE secured 63 percent of the auction capacity.

GE will provide 1.7-100 and 1.85-82.5 turbines for wind farms developed by Casa dos Ventos, Eletrosul, Contour Global, CEEE, PEC, Rio Energy and Chesf in the Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia and Piauí. GE also will service the wind turbines for 10 years as part of an operations and maintenance agreement that includes an availability guarantee for the 26 wind farms.

Between this week’s auction and the reserve power auction that took place in August, GE secured a total of 1 gigawatt (GW) of commitments for wind energy. In the November 18 auction, the new wind capacity was contracted at an average rate of R$124/MWh (US$54/MWh). The Brazilian government held this auction to meet demand for the country’s electricity needs in 2016.

“GE has 1 GW of installed wind capacity in Brazil. We’re currently installing another 400 MW of wind, and with this year’s auctions, we have secured an additional 1 GW of commitments. We are committed to bringing clean and reliable wind energy to Brazil, and our technology, combined with our proven execution track record, makes us one of the leading providers in the region,” said Jean-Claude Robert, general manager of Latin America for GE’s renewable energy business.

In September, GE announced that it had installed its 500th wind turbine in Brazil. The 1.6-MW turbine was installed at DESA’s 38-MW Eurus project in João Camara in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.

GE has a presence in Brazil since 1919 and today, employs more than 8,500 people in the country. The company has operations throughout Brazil, including in Bahia, São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. The local team uses GE’s global expertise of engineers, field service technicians and logistics excellence to help provide the highest quality and strongest execution for its customers in Brazil.