Wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa (Zamudio, Vizcaya, Spain) announced on Feb. 16 that it has signed two new agreements with Guangdong Nuclear Wind Power and China Huadian New Energy Development to develop a total of 600 MW in wind projects in Jilin province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The agreements will see Gamesa deliver several batches of G9X-2.0 MW wind turbines during the next five years.
Cooperation between Gamesa and China Guangdong Nuclear started in 2009. Since then, both sides have jointly developed wind projects in Shandong, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces. The new agreement is a milestone as it uses wind turbines produced in Gamesa's Jilin factory, for wind projects in Jilin. Components for the project also will come out of a new factory under construction in Inner Mongolia.
Jorge Calvet, chairman of Gamesa, said in his first trip to China in 2011 that "today's news shows that we continue to grow with our clients here in China, one of our largest markets. We are a reliable partner for China in reaching its goals for clean energy and sustainable development. These agreements show that our Chinese clients value our leading technology and competitive Cost of Energy [CoE].
Gamesa currently has four manufacturing plants (for blades, generators, and nacelle and gearbox assembly) in the province of Tianjin, and two more under construction, in Jilin and Inner Mongolia.
Gamesa broke ground on the Jilin plant in May 2010. The plant is scheduled to open in March 2011. The new facility, with an anticipated annual output of approximately 250 machines, will manufacture Gamesa's 2.0-MW wind turbines for its partners in that province.