ACCIONA Windpower opens its first wind power component manufacturing plant in Brazil

ACCIONA Windpower, a subsidiary of the ACCIONA Group dedicated to the design, manufacture and sale of wind turbines, today inaugurated its wind turbine hub assembly plant in Simões Filho (Bahia, Brazil). This is ACCIONA's first industrial initiative in Brazil, aimed at supplying wind turbines to the country's fast-growing wind energy sector.

The new plant was officially opened by the Governor of Bahia, Jaques Wagner. ACCIONA was represented by the Director-General of its Energy Division, Rafael Mateo, and other executives of the Group.

The assembly plant will produce 135 hubs a year for the 3-megawatt AW-3000 wind turbine, the biggest model designed and manufactured by ACCIONA Windpower. The main function of the hub is to join the blades to the power train and transfer the energy captured by the blades

The plant will employ 30 people. In addition, the plant will induce 180 indirect jobs in companies supplying components to the plant.

ACCIONA Windpower will also source blades and towers from Brazilian manufacturers, leading to the creation of some 500 additional jobs. In total, ACCIONA's industrial initiative is expected to support a total of 700 direct and indirect jobs.

ACCIONA Windpower is firmly committed to Brazil. The Company expects its new industrial venture to improve its competitive position within the industry.

Rafael Mateo stated that "the opening of the plant is the start of an industrial project that shows great promise in Brazil. Our wind power technology, proven in four continents, is reliable and competitive and has awoken great interest in Brazil. ACCIONA will assemble wind turbines with a high level of locally-made components. We are proud to be contributing to the development a new industrial sector in Brazil, based on renewable energy technology."

First orders

The Simões Filho plant is ACCIONA Windpower's fifth manufacturing facility. The Company has three wind turbine assembly plants (two in Spain and one in the United States) and a blade plant, also in Spain.

ACCIONA Windpower recently signed its first contract with CPFL Renováveis to supply 40 wind turbines (totaling 120 MW capacity) for its Atlántica wind farm in Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil.

The wind farm will incorporate the 3-MW AW116/3000 turbine. This model has a rotor diameter of 116 meters and is installed on a 120-meter concrete tower, manufactured using a novel 'on site' system.

ACCIONA has already signed a contract with a company in Fortaleza to produce blades for the wind turbines that will be installed in Brazil.

ACCIONA in Brazil

ACCIONA is a global leader in renewable energy, infrastructure and water services. It has been present in Brazil since the group's Infrastructure division established itself in 1996.

ACCIONA Infrastructure was recently awarded a $700-million-dollar contract to build parts of the Rodoanel norte, a ringroad around São Paulo. It is also building the docks for LLX at Porto do Açú, north of Rio de Janeiro, which will be Latin America's largest private port when it is completed. ACCIONA also built and operates a section of the BR-393 highway between Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro.

ACCIONA Forwarding, a company dedicated to customized logistics and transport solutions, has been present in Brazil for over a decade, and ACCIONA Agua provides operation and maintenance services for the Arrudas water treatment plant in Minas Gerais.