Voltalia and Acciona Windpower sign contracts to supply wind turbines with a total capacity of 210 MW in Brazil

Subsidiaries of VOLTALIA, a company that produces electricity from renewable energy sources, and ACCIONA Windpower, a company that designs and manufactures wind turbines, have signed a contract for the supply of turbines with a capacity of 210 MW for two of VOLTALIA’s wind farm clusters in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte. The agreement covers the supply of seventy latest-technology ACCIONA Windpower AW 3000 turbines of 3 MW capacity each.

The two clusters are Sao Miguel do Gostoso (120 MW) and Areia Branca (90 MW). They benefit, together with a third 110-MW wind farm, from 20-year power purchase agreements won by VOLTALIA in 2011 through public tender offerings. The company is currently selecting civil work and miscellaneous electrical contractors. VOLTALIA is also proceeding with project debt raising. Construction at the Sao Miguel do Gostoso and Areia Branca sites will effectively begin in Q3 2013, with electricity generation to start progressively in 2014 and 2015.

The supply agreement includes 41 wind turbines AW 116/3000, with a rotor diameter of 116 m and a swept area of 10,568 square meters, ideal for medium wind speeds (class IEC IIa) together with 29 units of the AW 125/3000, with 125-m rotor diameter and 12,305-square-meters swept area, which optimizes the capture of energy even on sites of moderate winds (class IEC IIIa).

The 70 wind turbines will be installed on 120-meter-high concrete towers manufactured using a novel system of construction “on site”. This reduces transport costs and also the impact on the environment. The contract comprises delivery, transportation, installation and commissioning of the turbines, as well as a long term service and maintenance agreement.

The equipment supplied by ACCIONA Windpower has a high proportion of components manufactured in Brazil. The hubs will come from the plant recently opened by the company in Simoes Filho (Bahia) and other essential components such as towers and blades will also be supplied by Brazilian vendors.

Sébastien Clerc, CEO of VOLTALIA, comments: “The Sao Miguel do Gostoso and the Areia Branca projects are strategic for us. Brazil is a key country for VOLTALIA and I expect ongoing successes in the country. I am delighted to benefit from Acciona’s experience and technology.”

For his part, ACCIONA Energy Division CEO Rafael Mateo says that “it is very satisfying to announce our biggest contract in Brazil, a strategic country for ACCIONA Windpower in which we will increase our presence. We are proud to work together with VOLTALIA, a company whose vision of the promising development of wind power in Brazil we share”.