Acciona Windpower unveils wind turbine hub assembly plant in Brazil

Spanish conglomerate Acciona has unveiled a wind turbine hub assembly plant at Simões Filho in the Brazilian province of Bahia.

The assembly plant will be operated by Acciona subsidiary Acciona Windpower and will have a capacity to produce 135 units per annum.

The facility will cater to the 3MW AW-3000 wind turbines, the biggest model to have been designed and manufactured by Acciona.

This AW-3000 turbines have a rotor diameter of 116m and are installed on a 120-meter concrete tower, manufactured using an on-site system.

Primarily the main function of the hub is to join the blades to the power train and transfer the energy captured by the blades.

Acciona energy division director-general Rafael Mateo remarked that unveiling of the assembly plants marks the beginning of the company’s operations in the country’s wind sector.

"Our wind power technology, proven in four continents, is reliable and competitive and has awoken great interest in Brazil.

"Acciona will assemble wind turbines with a high level of locally-made components. We are proud to be contributing to the development a new industrial sector in Brazil, based on renewable energy technology," elaborated Mateo.

The company, meanwhile, also secured its first contract with CPFL Renováveis wherein it is mandated to supply 40 wind turbines for the Atlántica wind farms in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

The Simões Filho plant is the company’s fifth manufacturing facility overall alongside the three wind turbine assembly plants and a blade plant located in Spain and the US.