Gamesa continues to strengthen its position in China, where it plans to triple its national investment through 2012 to expand and adapt its manufacturing centers for the development of its new wind turbine systems. By 2009 Gamesa had invested a total of 42 million euros on Chinese manufacturing facilities and they now plan to invest an additional 90+ million euros, bringing its cumulative investments to more than 130 million euros. This investment is expected to meet rising demand from the wind energy industry in the Asian country and to address local production needs, in the medium term, for its new G9X-2.0 MW, G10X-4.5 MW, and offshore turbine systems.
Gamesa's G9X is rated as a 2.0 MW wind turbine
During a conference on the Chinese wind energy market, jointly organized by Gamesa and Morgan Stanley, held at the Spanish Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010, Gamesa Chairman Jorge Calvet stated that, “One of Gamesa’s goals is to cement its position as one of the top five players in the Chinese wind energy industry, to participate in the industry’s growth and meet the needs of its customers as a manufacturer and operator of maintenance services and a developer of wind farms (along with local partners) in the regions with the greatest potential for the wind energy business.”
Gamesa’s forecasts indicate that in 2011, the Chinese market will account for more than 30% of the total MW sold (vs. 15% in 2009), which will entail nearly doubling sales in China within two years.
Gamesa’s chairman also announced that the company has broken ground on its sixth manufacturing center in China, a factory in the province of Inner Mongolia, one of China’s leading hubs for wind energy development. The factory is designed for the assembly of nacelles for the G8X-2 MW turbine model, and will have an annual production capacity of 500 MW. The plant is set to begin operating in 2011.
Gamesa also operates as a wind farm developer in China, a competitive advantage which it is developing in conjunction with the country’s leading (global and provincial) power companies. As of June 2010, Gamesa had a wind farm project pipeline in China totaling 2,675 MW at varying stages of development, but this figure has climbed to 3,185 MW in the past two months.
The company recently signed new strategic agreements to develop and supply 1,315.3 MW of wind capacity between 2010 and 2013. The agreements, which Gamesa signed with two of China’s largest power companies, Guangdong Nuclear Wind and Datang Renewable Power, call for the company to supply its Gamesa G8X-2.0 MW and G5X-850 kW turbine systems. Gamesa and Guangdong will jointly develop and build wind farms in the provinces of Liaoning (576 MW) and Heilongjiang (450 MW), at which Gamesa will also install the G8X-2.0 MW turbines it will manufacture at its plants in China.
Filed Under: Projects
