Advance of the wind sector brings new manufacturers to Brazil
DCI
Major industries of the wind energy sector have signaled the possibility of opening plants in Brazil. That because less than two months after the first exclusive public bid for wind power plants to hire 1,805 MW the Government announced a new bidding procedures for alternative sources still in the first half. And it is the success of the bid of December, a signaling of a sequence for the new source and incentives for the national production of equipment that have motivated the manufacturers.
Today, only the multinationals WPE - a subsidiary of the Argentine Impsa - and Wobben, related to the German Enercon, produce wind turbines in Brazilian soil. These two companies should be joined by another four suppliers. Also in 2009, Alstom signed a memorandum of intent with the Government of the State of Bahia. GE has already signaled towards the expansion of the plant of Campinas (SP). Siemens, which has announced improvements in the plant of Jundiaí (SP), does not deny it plans a line aimed at the wind power plants, either. In the Northeast, the President of the Agency for the Economic Development of the State of Ceará (Adece), Antonio Balhmann, was in Europe in the beginning of this month in meetings with the Fuhrlander. According to him, the company even has an area in the port of Pecém. "Now, in view of the interest for the public biding and a greater confidence, came the final possibility", he assessed.
Getting to the winds of the State of Ceará, Furhlander would be side by side with Wobben, which has the capacity to produce 500 MW/year between the plants of Pecém and Sorocaba (SP). "The arrival of other manufacturers will help develop suppliers with greater and more constant volumes", assessed the administrative manager of Wobben in Brazil, Fernando Scapol, adding he has already closed nearly 600 MW for delivery in the next two years, besides the perspective of increasing the current premises of the company. The commercial director of WPE, Paulo Ferreira, also welcomes the arrival of new plants. "That confirms the fact that the Brazilian State is pointing to a better use of the source".
In 2009, the generation of energy in the country grew 260 MW, exceeding the 600 MW, and is currently at 712.8 MW. For the Brazilian Wind Energy Association (Abeeólica) the amount will exceed 1 GW in 2010 since there are still nearly 600 MW of the Program of Incentive to Alternative Sources (Proinfa) that have not been implemented yet. "The Government is taking it seriously: wind energy may be a complement to the water forces", said the President Lauro Fiúza.