French transport and energy infrastructure giant Alstom (ALO.Euronext) has inaugurated its new hydropower component manufacturing facility in Tianjin. The new facility is not yet complete, but it is intended to replace Alstom's original Tianjin factory and add 20% more production capacity. Combined production capacity will be 30 turbines and generator units a year, which is in theory capable of satisfying 100% of China's current growth rate of 15 gigawatts of hydropower per year.
The new facility will also house Alstom's third global technology research center. Alstom is set to profit from Bejing's decision to add 63 GW of hydropower by 2015. It has already signed contracts to build 43 GW worth of hydro turbine capacity in China - 28 GW of which are already in operation. On November 4, it signed a contract to supply five 40 megawatt turbine units to a project in Jiangxi. On the same day, however, Alstom announced first-half profits had declined 29% based on weak orders for trains and thermal power equipment, the mainstays of the company's revenue streams. In both sectors, Alstom is facing increasing competition from Chinese players, in some cases companies it helped incubate through technology transfer agreements.
