Alstom to equip Santo Antonio plant in Brazil to support the countrys power generation needs

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 leads the hydroelectric generation sector
with 35% of the market. Alstom is the world leader in the supply of
hydro power integrated power plant equipment and services with
over 400 GW of turbines and generators installed worldwide,
representing more than 25% of global hydro power installed
capacity. Alstom offers the broadest range of products and
solutions that cover all hydro power schemes, from large to small,
from run-of-river to pumped-storage, for new installations,
refurbishment, upgrading and services.

*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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