Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S is building its first assembly plant in Brazil, announcing in a statement, "The investment is included in Vestas's CAPEX program for 2011."When fully operational, the facility will have an annual production capacity of approximately 400 nacelles of the V90 and V100 turbine type representing an initially estimated annual capacity of 800 (megawatts)."
The assembly plant will be situated in Fortaleza, Ceara in the northeast of Brazil, and will assemble nacelles, the hub which sits atop a wind turbine tower and encases the gear box, drive train and other components at the center of the rotor, Mercopress news agency reported.
By the end of 2010 Vestas Wind Systems A/S had installed in Brazil turbines with a total capacity of 204 megawatts, and currently has orders for an additional 380 megawatts of new capacity in Brazil. Despite having a total installed base of 1,000 megawatts, wind still represents only one percent of all installed energy capacity in Brazil.
Two months ago the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy unveiled a 10-year energy plan, in which wind has been targeted for the greatest growth rate over the next decade with the ultimate goal of reaching around 12,000 megawatts by 2020 - representing approximately 7 percent of Brazil's total installed energy base.
By. Charles Kennedy, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com
Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com More