China's Mingyang Will Install Wind Turbines in Brazil

A major China-based wind turbine manufacturer confirmed it has an agreement with a Brazilian energy company to install its equipment for the first time in Latin America.

Mingyang, the largest private wind turbine maker in China, on August 16 said it has “joined forces” with Brazil’s Companhia Paranaense de Energia, a utility better known as Copel, to install its MySE 6.25-172 model turbine at a project that would take shape in 2025. The Chinese company said it thinks the venture would lead to other opportunities in wind energy in the region.

Mingyang in January of this year announced it had signed a preferred supplier agreement for a 240-MW onshore wind farm in Brazil. The company at that time said the deal represented a “significant breakthrough” in the Brazilian market. Mingyang officials in that announcement said the company was prepared to supply 30 of its MySE 4.0-156, and 19 of its MySE 6.25-172 turbines, to an undisclosed client, now confirmed to be Copel.

Officials have said the wind farm would be built in two phases. Mingyang also has discussed executing a multi-year service agreement for the project. The company in online posts also said it has developed a 30-MW-class pure hydrogen gas turbine that could be used at renewable energy installations in desert climates. Mingyang officials have said the system, which has been in testing since May 2023, would produce 10,000 metric tons of green hydrogen annually through the use of wind and solar power.

Mingyang earlier this month signed a deal to establish a wind turbine manufacturing plant in Italy. The deal, reportedly valued at $546 million, is between the Chinese group, Italian energy firm Renexia, and Italy’s industry ministry. It follows another recent announcement that Italian energy officials want to align with Chinese solar power equipment manufacturers on construction of factories in Italy.

Officials have said a site for a manufacturing plant is expected to be selected within the next three months. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited China in late July in an effort to enhance ties between the two countries.

—Darrell Proctor is senior editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).