ENGIE is concluding the most important phase of the National Wind Turbine Generator Research and Development Project, the assembly of the equipment. Located in the municipality of Tubarão, state of Santa Catarina, the wind generator is being installed at ENGIE’s experimental research and development park and is the result of a National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) Strategic Project and part of the Company’s Research and Development Program (R&D). The wind generator was designed and constructed by WEG S.A with additional R&D resources from Centrais Elétricas de Santa Catarina S.A (CELESC), and the second stage of the project.

The project’s objective – known as “Development and certification of a 4.2 MW national directly driven wind turbine with permanent magnet synchronous generator and full power converter” – is to develop and incentivize indigenous technology in wind energy. Dependence on other countries will thus be reduced by strengthening the Brazilian chain of component and service suppliers for the manufacture and installation of large scale wind turbine generators.

The manufacture of the concrete tower segments with more than 1,100 tons of steel and concrete was undertaken by WEG at the site itself where the wind turbine is being installed. The generator, hub, and nacelle, installed at the top of the concrete tower, were produced by WEG at its headquarters and principal global operation located in the city of Jaraguá do Sul (SC) while the rotor blades were manufactured by Aeris in Caucaia (CE).

One of the challenges of the project was logistics, given the dimensions of the project and the distances involved. The generator, hub, and nacelle, with a total weight of 201.3 tons, were transported 300km by road from Jaraguá do Sul (SC) to Tubarão (SC). Meanwhile, the rotor blades, each measuring 72 meter in length and weighting 22.5 tons were sent by sea from Porto de Pecém in the state of Ceará to the Porto de Imbituba in the state of Santa Catarina. From Imbituba, the equipment was transported a further 50km by special flatbed articulated truck to Tubarão (SC) with a federal highway police escort, and CELESC, the local energy distributor, providing support for lifting electric power lines during the course of the journey.

This additional 4.2 MW turbine was installed 600 meters from another 2.1MW wind generator, the result of the initial stage of this R&D Strategic Project and the first prototype to be constructed by WEG in Brazil. The first generator went into service in 2015 and the analysis of its performance contributed to the development of this second project, better adapted to wind conditions in Brazil. The electric energy generated will be supplied to the National Interconnected System (SIN), the grid which connects the generation units with consumers.

“ENGIE’s investment in this project is more than R$ 80 million and is designed to incentivize the development of wind energy in the domestic market. The development of Brazilian technology has the potential to bring socioeconomic benefits to several regions, increasing the competitiveness of the country in the supply of this equipment as well as reducing the cost of energy generated and feeding directly through to benefits for the consumer”, says the Director of New Businesses, Strategy and Innovation at ENGIE Brasil Energia, Guilherme Ferrari.

“The development of the AGW 147/4.2 wind generator was the responsibility of multidisciplinary engineering teams. The final validation of the components was conducted at WEG’s Jaraguá do Sul headquarters using a back-to-back workbench system. With this arrangement, two wind turbine generators are connected mechanically, one acting as a generator facing the other, a motor simulating wind so permitting more autonomy to our R&D process. Interesting to note that this test structure is the largest of its type in the Americas and suitable for attending future platforms up to 6MW. The second wind generator used in the arrangement, and which has served as motor for final validation, is to be sent to the Indian market, with installation of this 50Hz prototype expected before the end of 2021”, explains WEG Energia’s Managing Director, João Paulo Gualberto da Silva.

Since 1999, ENGIE has invested more than R$ 300 million in Research and Development in Brazil, involving more than 200 projects either already executed and/or under development combining the efforts of more than 40 organizations, including universities, research centers, companies, and startups.

“ENGIE believes the Research and Development (R&D) projects have the mission of contributing to the sustainable growth of the Company and the country through initiatives related to operational efficiency, new products and services or business models”, Ferrari points out.

The initiative is also in line with ENGIE’s strategy of being a bellwether in Brazil in the transition to a low carbon economy and in the production of energy through harnessing renewable sources. With the entry into operations of the Campo Largo 2 Wind Complex in the state of Bahia in February 2021, ENGIE has a total installed capacity of 1,262.8 MW in wind power in Brazil. When the Santo Agostinho Wind Complex in the state of Rio Grande do Norte goes into operation, scheduled for March 2023, the Company’s total installed wind power capacity will reach 1,696.8 MW.