The State Government signed a protocol of intent for the installation of the first offshore wind energy generation park off the coast of Rio Grande do Norte. Governor Fátima Bezerra received the directors of Bi Energia, a company that is in charge of the project in an area of ??300 square kilometers off the coast of the municipalities of Touros, São Miguel do Gostoso and Pedra Grande.
The project foresees the installation of 52 wind turbines of 12 megawatts of power, two electrical substations, one at sea to increase the voltage and another on land. The towers installed in the sea will have signs to avoid collisions with ships and boats and illuminated signs to alert planes that do not follow traditional routes.
The Maritime Wind Farm is also designed not to interfere in the areas where fishing communities operate, such as the Colônia de Pescadores Z – 36 João Baracho Sobrinho and the Colônia de Pescadores Cajueiro, and in the Quilombola areas. Bi Energia operates in the state of Ceará where, since 2016, it has operated a Maritime Wind Farm with 59 towers in an investment of 1,000 million euros.
“Rio Grande do Norte increasingly reaffirms its vocation for the production of wind energy, a sector in which we lead national production. Not in vain have we increased our capacity, even through investments like the one we are dealing with. And we have an extraordinary capacity to expand this, ”said Governor Fatima Bezerra, noting that the first contacts with Bi Energia took place last year during the visit organized by the Northeast Consortium to European countries to attract investment.
The Secretary of State for Economic Development (Sedec), Jaime Calado, highlighted RN’s enormous offshore and onshore potential:
“The Government of RN is preparing a wind atlas with measurements of the wind potential on land and at sea. In advance, we verify that we have winds to attract many investments.”
In addition to the favorable wind conditions, RN offers legal certainty and speed in the issuance of environmental licenses, reported the head of the Sedec.
The director of Bi Energia, Lúcio Bonfim Junior, said that the protocol represents another step towards the realization of the undertaking and that the state administration has been carrying out actions that advance the project. Gaspare Ferrara, managing partner of the wind power company, highlighted the favorable conditions presented by the RN and the Government’s interest in making the installation of the park viable.
For the mayor of Pedra Grande, Waldemar Belchior, the investment will benefit the municipality and boost the economy. “In addition, we have the possibility of receiving compensation for investments such as road paving,” he said.
The meeting to sign the protocol also included the participation of the Secretaries of State Carlos Eduardo Xavier (Taxation), Gustavo Coelho (Infrastructure), Infrastructure Deputy, Haroldo Azevedo Filho, Luciana Daltro, special adviser to the Government, Hugo Fonseca (coordinator of development) Sedec) and Benes Leocádio, federal deputy.
