Alstom Hydro strengthens its leadership of Brazils hydropower industry by equipping Jirau, second power plant of the Madeira River projects

Alstom Hydro, Brazilian industry leader with a 35% share in the countrys hydropower market, has won a contract of over 300 million to supply part of the equipment for the Jirau hydropower plant, including Bulb turbines and generators. 

Located 135 km from the city of Porto Velho in northern Brazil, the Jirau hydropower plant will generate up to 3,300 MW and will start in operation in 2012.

The Jirau contract, which will be booked in the 4th quarter of the fiscal year 2008/2009, follows an earlier contract won by Alstom Hydro in 2008 to supply equipment to the 3,150 MW Santo Antonio hydropower plant. Both projects form part of Brazils infrastructure development scheme, the Madeira River projects.

The contract was signed between Alstom Hydro, leader of an equipment manufacturing consortium including Voith Siemens and Andritz Va Tech, and Jirau project investor Energia Sustentável do Brasil, made up by GDF SUEZ, leader of the consortium with 50,1%, CHESF (20%), Eletrosul (20%) and Camargo Correa (9,9%).

The Alstom-led consortium will design, manufacture and supply a total of 28 x 75 MW Bulb type* generating units, out of which Alstom Hydro is responsible for supplying 10 turbines and 17 generators, as well as all of the 28 speed governors, monitoring systems, bus bars and surge/neutral devices; this represents around 48% of this contract. The contract scope also includes supervision of erection and commissioning. Most of the equipment will be produced in Brazil, notably the turbines and generators manufactured at Alstom Hydros Taubaté** factory.

This new contract further strengthens Alstom Hydros presence and leadership in the Brazilian hydropower market where it built hydropower plants for over 50 years said Philippe Joubert, Alstom Executive Vice President and President, Power Systems. The Madeira River projects count among Brazils most important infrastructure development schemes and will play a key role in the countrys economic development over the next decade. Winning the trust of Energia Sustentável do Brasil for this project confirms a worldwide acknowledgement of Alstoms superior technology in hydropower. 

* Bulb units are especially suitable for low head and run-of-river hydropower schemes such as Jirau and 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. Hundreds of Bulb units manufactured by Alstom Hydro are operating worldwide. Some examples are: Canoas I e II in São Paulo, Igarapava, in Minas Gerais, Rock Island in the USA, Chautagne/Belley in France, Qiao Gong, Tong wan in China. Other major Alstom Hydro references in Brazil include the Itaipu, Tucuruí, Porto Primavera, Estreito and Foz do Chapecó plants.

**The Taubaté factory has a total covered area of 81,000 square metres and, together with the factory in Tianjin, China, represents one of Alstom Hydro's largest global hydro industrial hubs. It manufactures the company's entire product range, including turbines of all sizes, generators for all applications, and other hydro-mechanical equipment. The manufacturing activity counts 780 employees, with a total yearly capacity of about 1,250,000 hours. Taubatés products are used for export projects, e.g. the Three Gorges in China, Merowe in Sudan and Sunbasiri in India, as well as serving the local hydro markets of Brazil and Latin America.

About AlstomAlstom is a global leader in the world of power generation and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, and provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind. The Group employs 79,000 people in 70 countries, and had orders of 23.5 billion in 2007/08.

About Alstom Hydro*Alstom Hydro, a joint-venture between Alstom and Bouygues, is the world's largest supplier of hydroelectric equipment and services having installed turbines and generators capable of providing more than 400 GW of electricity, representing more than 25% of global hydroelectric generating capacity. It offers the widest range of products and solutions for all types of energy projects, large and small power stations and fluvial water flows including pumped storage for new installations, refurbishment and modernization or services. The joint-venture currently employs 5500 people in 19 countries.

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