French power producer Voltalia has placed an order with Spanish turbine-maker Siemens Gamesa for supply of 36 turbines totaling 128MW for the Ventos da Serra do Mel 2 (VSM 2) wind project in Brazil.
Image: Voltalia places order with Siemens Gamesa to supply turbines for Brazilian wind farm. Photo: Courtesy of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, S.A.
Under the contract, Siemens Gamesa will supply SG 3.4-132 turbines, with a rated capacity of 3.55MW each. The rotors have a diameter of 132m and will be placed on 120m long towers.
The VSM 2 project will be located in Serra Branca cluster, neighboring the VSM 1 project, which is already under construction. The wind farm is expected to benefit from the economies of scale, in terms of construction process and connection facilities, apart from suitable wind conditions.
Voltalia CEO Sébastien Clerc said: “After securing several long-term power sale contracts in Brazil since the end of 2017, we are now currently building 291 MW of power plants with a significant anticipation in order to commission them in the course of 2020. Altogether we will install an additional number of 83 wind turbines in our Serra Branca cluster, which is located in one of the windiest areas in Brazil.
“The VSM 2 project brings our total capacity in operation and construction to 911 MW.”
Voltalia has also secured long-term power sale agreements for the VSM 2 project. These will start in 2021 for 64MW capacity and in 2024 for the remaining 64MW. The electricity generated between the commissioning of the plant and these dates will be sold on the free market.
This is the third contract offered by Voltalia in Brazil for Siemens Gamesa and follows supply of 13 units of SG 2.1-114 for Vila Acre I with 27MW capacity and supply of 47 units of its SG 3.4-132 for Ventos da Serra do Mel 1 with 163MW. In total, Siemens Gamesa had secured a total of 318MW from Voltalia in Brazil since 2016.
Siemens Gamesa onshore brazil managing director Roberto Prida said: “Our customers’ trust is fundamental to enable and drive our growth strategy, and we are very pleased to have received this third order from Voltalia.
“We feel very confident that together we are advancing wind power as the most competitive generation technology in Brazil.”