Spanning approximately 11,000 m², beside Alstom’s grid power transformers and shunt reactors unit, the new plant will employ 90 people and could generate an additional 250 indirect jobs in the region. The Canoas plant will produce towers for to the Corredor do Senandes complex, the first wind project of Odebrecht Energia which will have 108 MW of installed capacity.
The factory will supply the southern region of Latin America, a market currently experiencing strong growth, Alstom says.
“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,” said Marcos Costa, country president of Alstom Brazil. “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.”
It is Alstom’s second wind manufacturing unit Latin America, following the commissioning of its first wind nacelle plant in Camaçari, State of Bahia, in November 2011. The Camaçari unit can make 600 MW of wind turbines per year.
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 frame agreement.