Alstom has officially opened its first wind turbine plant in Brazil, in the Camaçari industrial complex in Bahia. The plant will have capacity to produce turbines with power of 300 MW annually. The ECO 86 turbine (adapted for medium-to-high wind conditions in Bahia) will be assembled at the plant as will the ECO 100 turbine. Alstom has invested R$ 50 million (c. EUR20 million) in the plant.

“This is just the beginning of a path we want to follow in the wind industry in Brazil and over Latin America”, said Patrick Kron, Chairman and CEO of Alstom, at the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by Governor Jaques Wagner from the State of Bahia.

Marcos Costa, Vice President Renewable Power and Thermal Power for Alstom Latin America, sees Bahia as “one of the most promising states" for wind in Brazil - but added that one third of the Camaçari plant production will serve other markets in Latin America.

In July last year Alstom signed a EUR100 million contract with Desenvix, a subsidiary of the Engevix group, to construct a 90 MW wind project in the state of Bahia. the Brotas Complex, which will comprise three farms, all to be equipped with Alstom ECO 86 wind turbines of 1.67 MW each.

This year, Alstom entered into a contract with Brasventos S.A, worth approximately EUR200 million, to construct and maintain three wind farms in the state of Rio Grande do Norte with production capacity of 580,000 MWh a year. Alstom will supply, install, commission and service the ECO 86 wind turbines for this project, which will use the company’s SCADA system to access turbine data, optimize operation and maintenance.