Wind power in Brazil: Vestas inaugurates factory in Ceará

As part of its local production strategy, Vestas has inaugurated its hub and nacelle factory in Aquiraz, Brazil, at a ceremony attended by the Governor of Ceará, Camilo Santana, and key stakeholders from the Brazilian wind energy sector. The new factory is part of Vestas’ plans to meet the increasing production demands in Brazil and Latin America, including the 376 MW of announced orders for projects in Brazil that Vestas received in 2015.

In accordance with recent BNDES approval, Vestas expects to localise 70 percent of hub and nacelle manufacturing for the Brazilian market.

Speaking at the inauguration, Rogério Zampronha, General Manager for Vestas Brazil, said “With some of the best wind resources in the world, Brazil has a huge potential for wind power and remains one of Vestas’ key strategic markets. Our investment in this factory is a key part of providing our customers a strong business case here and underlines Vestas’ competitiveness in Brazil”.

The factory will produce hubs and nacelles for the V110-2.0 MW turbine model, recently awarded the “Wind Turbine of 2015” under its category “Onshore wind turbines up to 2.9 MW”.

In addition to the factory, Vestas has agreements with Aeris to produce blades and with ABB to produce generators locally and currently maintains 13 wind farms in Brazil, including the Xangri-lá (RS) wind farm which produces electricity for the Honda car manufacturing facility located in Sumaré, São Paulo.

Vestas has been present in the Brazilian market since 2000 and has since then installed 364 wind turbines that represent a total installed capacity of 713 MW.

Vestas wind turbines deliver clean energy that supports the global fight against climate change. Wind power from Vestas’ more than 55,700 wind turbines currently reduces carbon emissions by over 60 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, while at the same time building energy security and independence. Vestas has delivered wind energy in 74 countries, providing jobs for around 19,600 passionate people at our service and project sites, research facilities, factories and offices all over the world. With 52 percent more megawatts installed than anyone else in the industry and close to 71 GW of cumulative installed capacity worldwide, Vestas is the world leader in wind energy.