Denmark’s Vestas has signed an agreement with Brazil’s Casa dos Ventos to supply 291 onshore turbines for two wind farms in northeastern Brazil. It is the company’s biggest onshore order in Latin America and worldwide, worth BRL 9 billion (USD 1.77 billion).
The deal was finalized by Vestas Latam, an independent business unit established in January 2022 and reporting directly to Denmark, giving the company more autonomy to better explore the region’s market.
Vestas has approximately 6 gigawatts of installed capacity worldwide. The contract will supply equipment for the Babilônia Centro wind complex, in Bahia. With an installed capacity of 554 megawatts, it will receive 123 turbines.
Vestas will also supply 168 turbines to the Serra do Tigre wind park in Rio Grande do Norte, with 756 megawatts installed capacity. According to Vestas, the two projects will have a total capacity of 1.3 gigawatts when fully installed — enough to power around 2 million households in Brazil per month.
Delivery of the equipment is expected to start in Q3 2024 and commissioning in Q1 2025.
Lucas Araripe, executive director of Casa dos Ventos, told specialist website Canal Energia that the two wind farms have already received their environmental licenses and are expected to generate 14,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction.
According to the Global Wind Energy Council, Brazil increased its wind power production capacity by 4 gigawatts last year. The industry achieved 25.6 gigawatts of installed capacity in 2022, with wind energy now holding a firm position and accounting for over 10 percent of the country’s energy mix.
