Brazil - Alstom wins a wind energy contract with Brasventos

Alstom signed a contract worth nearly €200 million to build and service three wind farms in Brazil for Brasventos S.A., a special purpose company composed of J. Malucelli Energia (51%), Eletrobras Eletronorte (24,5%) and Eletrobras Furnas (24,5%). The wind farm plants will be located in Rio Grande do Norte State (northeast region) and will have a forecasted production of 580,000 MWh per year, enough to power more than 100,000 households and save more than 300,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The scope of the wind power order includes the supply, installation and commissioning and long-term servicing of ECO 86 wind turbines. The wind farm plants will be equipped with Alstom’s SCADA system enabling local and remote access to wind turbine data for optimised operation and maintenance. The wind turbine generators will be manufactured in Alstom's new manufacturing plant in Bahia, Brazil, combined with partial supplies from Alstom's plant in Buñuel, Spain.

The wind farms will feature Alstom’s powerful and easy-to-install ECO 86 wind turbines, ideally suited for the region’s medium to high wind conditions and complex coastal terrain. Alstom’s wind turbines are all based on the company’s unique ALSTOM PURE TORQUE™ rotor support concept. Its design separates deflection forces arising from wind buffeting from the pure rotor torque required for power generation. It protects the drive train and, in particular, the gearbox, ensuring higher reliability of the turbine.

Alfonso Faubel, Alstom Power’s Wind business Vice President, said: “This contract, our biggest wind energy project in Brazil to date, is a great endorsement of our leading wind turbine technology and project execution capabilities. The projects will support the government’s commitment to develop Brazil’s wind power market and further reinforces Alstom’s position as Brazil’s leading supplier of clean energy solutions”.

Alstom, present in Brazil for over 55 years, has provided about 50% of the power generation equipment in Brazil. Most recently, Alstom won a €100 million contract in July 2010 to build a 90 MW wind farm complex in Bahia for Desenvix, a Brazilian renewable power generating company subsidiary of the Engevix engineering group.