Greentech Lead America: GE has opened a new wind energy services center in Bahia, Brazil.
This facility, the first of two service centers opening in Brazil this year, enables GE to more quickly and efficiently put local expertise to work for customers, responding to rapidly growing demand for advanced wind energy services.
According to the Global Wind Energy Council, wind energy is one of Brazil’s fastest growing energy sources and the country has become a leader in the South American wind energy market.
GE has been a trusted partner of Brazil, helping meet the country’s energy demand growth through advanced technology and services.
GE has 450 wind turbine units installed in Brazil and the company is expected to be the top wind turbine supplier in the country by the end of the year with over 1 GW of installed capacity, half of which will be installed near the new service center in Bahia.
“It’s important for Renova that GE strengthens its services presence in Brazil,” said Mathias Becker, CEO of Renova. “The establishment of a local center with skilled wind technicians based here in Bahia will help us drive availability and our ability to provide more reliable power to the grid in Brazil.”
“The opening of this wind services center builds on GE’s near century long relationship with Brazil,” said Jean-Claude Robert, general manager of Latin America for GE’s renewable energy business.
The service center expands the company’s local expertise and enables the company to more efficiently provide industry-leading service to our customers.”
The center in Bahia, as well as a second scheduled to open in Rio Grande do Norte later this year, are part of GE’s larger services strategy, which puts advanced technology and local expertise to work for customers.
The service centers represent a $1.5 million investment in Brazil and will employ more than 100 service technicians.
Engineers and technicians at the Bahia service center will focus their work on GE’s 1.6-82.5 and 1.85-82.5 wind turbines, which incorporate cutting-edge software and other mechanical components that allow for increased power production while maintaining a 20-year design life.
GE will leverage the new service centers to partner with Brazilian technical schools to teach the next generation of wind energy engineers and technicians the skills they will need to succeed in this growing industry.
GE will provide hands-on learning opportunities at the service centers led by in-country trainers, donate equipment to technical schools, form new internship opportunities and open GE’s leading internal trainings for wind energy to qualifying students.