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

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.

Press contact

Philippe Kasse, Stéphane
Farhi (Corporate)                        


Tel +33 1 41 49 29 82 /33 08

press@chq.alstom.com 

Melina Georgitsis (Power)


Tel +33 1 41 49 31 05

Investor Relations     


Emmanuelle Châtelain


Tel + 33 1 41 49 37 38 

investor.relations@chq.alstom.com