A contract worth 500 million - Alstom Hydro to equip Santo Antonio plant in Brazil to support the countrys power generation needs

Alstom Hydro has been awarded a major contract, valued approximately 500 million euros, for the supply of electro-mechanical and hydro-mechanical equipment for the Santo Antônio hydropower plant in Brazil. 

The contract was signed with Construtora Norberto Odebrecht, the EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) consortium leader of the the Santo Antonio plant. The plant is scheduled to start commercial operation by mid 2012.

The Santo Antônio plant will be built on the Madeira river in the countrys northwest State of Rondônia, with an installed capacity of 3,150 MW. It will comprise 44 bulb type generating units, of which Alstom Hydro will provide 19 bulb turbines and 22 generators as well as 50% of the projects hydro-mechanical and lifting equipment.

Bulb units* are especially suitable for low head and run-of-river hydropower schemes such as Santo Antônio. These units are highly efficient as they are fully submerged in the water and thus able to handle significant variations in water discharge, as is the case for the Amazon region.

Alstom Hydro will manufacture the turbines and generators at its facility in Taubaté**, Brazil, one of the companys largest hydro industrial hubs world-wide. The hydro-mechanical and lifting equipment will be supplied from a new factory currently being built in Porto Velho, Rondônia, by Indústria Metalúrgica e Mecânica da Amazônia (IMMA), a joint-venture by Alstom Hydro and Bardella, a Brazilian capital goods company. The plant, mainly dedicated to the projects in the Amazon region, is expected to be operational at the end of 2009 and will employ approximately 300 people.

"We are honored to participate in the Santo Antônio project, one of Brazils most important infrastructure works, said Philippe Joubert, President of Alstom Power Systems. He added: Hydropower is the worlds most important source of renewable energy, representing over 16% of global electricity production today. With growing need for energy all over the world and increased demand in developing regions like Latin America, hydro can play an important role in energy production in particular as an independent energy source which is locally available.  

Alstom has a presence of over 50 years in Brazil and Alstom Hydro leads the hydroelectric generation sector with 35% of the market. Alstom Hydro, a joint venture between Alstom and Bouygues, is the world leader in the supply of hydropower integrated power plant equipment and services with over 400 GW of turbines and generators installed worldwide, representing more than 25% of global hydropower installed capacity. Alstom Hydro offers the broadest range of products and solutions that cover all hydropower schemes, from large to small, from run-of-river to pumped-storage, for new installations, refurbishment, upgrading and services. The joint venture has 5500 employees in 19 countries. *Hundreds of Alstom Hydro-made bulb units are currently in operation worldwide. To mention just a few: Canoas I and II in São Paulo, Igarapava, in Minas Gerais, Rock Island in USA, Chautagne/Belley in France, Qiao Gong, Tong wan in China. Alstom Hydros other major references in Brazil include Itaipu , Tucurui and Porto Primavera. **Taubaté factory has a total covered area of 81,000 sqm. Taubaté ,together with the factory in Tianjin, China, represent Alstom Hydro's largest global hydro industrial hubs. It is capable of manufacturing the company's complete product range, turbines of all sizes, generators for all applications, and hydro-mechanical equipment. The manufacturing activity counts 780 employees, with a total year capacity of about 1,250,000 hours. Taubaté is not only serving the hydro markets of Brazil and Latin America, it is also lending its capability and long experience to export projects, e.g. 3 Gorges in China or Sunbasiri in India. 

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