Brazil’s Votorantim Group Invests in Wind Farms

The Votorantim Group, Brazil’s largest industrial conglomerate, announced plans to invest 1.13 billion reais ($300 million) to build seven wind farms in northeastern Piaui state with the installed capacity of 206 megawatts (MW), marking its first foray into wind generation. Construction of the wind farms, to be supplied with turbines from Gamesa of Spain, will begin in 2016, and they are scheduled to go online in January 2018. The investment will make the group the country’s third-largest wind power producer, according to an Oct. 8 statement. Votorantim sold some of the future wind energy via 20-year supply contracts to electricity ...