Eletrosul to expand Brazilian wind power

Last month, Gamesa Corp. Tecnologica SA announced it won an order to supply 24 wind turbines capable of generating 48 megawatts to Cerro Chato. The turbines are scheduled for delivery this year.

Eletrosul Centrais Eletricas SA, a Brazilian state-run power company, will add 48 megawatts of capacity to its Cerro Chato wind farm at a cost of 270 million reais ($118 million).

With the expansion, the complex in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul will have installed capacity of 216 megawatts.

Most of the expansion financing, about 240 million reais, will come from German bank KfW.

Brazil, which gets more than 70 percent of its energy from hydroelectric dams, is seeking to increase and diversify its power sources. It will have more than 7 gigawatts in wind power generation capacity by the end of 2014, enough for about 13 million homes, according to Brazilian wind power association Abeeolica.