According to documents from Brazil’s Institute for the Environment and Natural Resources (IBAMA), which is processing the applications, EDF Renewables is looking at 21 MW wind turbines as the preferred technology for the five projects, the smallest of which would have a generation capacity of 1,596 MW.
The proposed offshore wind farms are located in the states of Ceará (1), Piauí (1), and Rio Grande do Sul (3). The project EDF is developing together with Internacional Energias Renováveis is located in Rio Grande do Norte.
In Ceará and Piauí, the French global renewable energy developer plans to build 2,016 MW offshore wind farms, one in each state. In Rio Grande do Sul, the company is proposing three offshore wind farms with installed capacities of 1,596 MW, 1,659 MW and 3,024 MW.
The wind turbine capacity for all five projects is cited as 21 MW per unit but the model and the manufacturer have been left unnamed in IBAMA’s documents available online.
The model planned to be used for the joint project in Rio Grande do Norte is GE Vernova’s Haliade-X with a capacity of 12 MW.
For this project, for which an environmental investigation application was submitted back in 2021, EDF Renewables and Internacional Energias Renováveis signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Rio Grande do Norte in May 2023. Under the MoU, the government and the developers agreed to develop actions of mutual cooperation and exchange aimed at the development of offshore wind projects and green hydrogen production in the state.
In 2022, EDF Renewables signed an MoU with Prumo Logística, a company responsible for the development of the Porto of Açu, to explore the development of offshore wind infrastructure in the North Fluminense region.
According to the news from 2022, the agreement foresees the use of the Port of Açu as an installation and commissioning offshore wind port, as well as a renewable energy hub enabling the production of green hydrogen.
Brazil is yet to build its first offshore wind farm (and this might be a 22 MW pilot project by SENAI Institute for Innovation in Renewable Energies) but the industry seems to be highly interested in developing and operating wind farms in Brazilian waters, judging by the number of applications IBAMA has received so far.
IBAMA’s list of environmental investigation applications filed, last updated on 10 December, shows there are now 103 projects undergoing this part of the permitting, accounting for 244.6 GW in potential installed capacity. It is worth noting that a number of the proposed projects’ sites overlap.
The permitting process and regulations on the construction and operation of offshore wind farms is currently being set up in Brazil on the federal level.
This month, the Brazilian Senate adopted a bill regulating offshore wind licensing, development and operation. The bill also includes provisions that would enable subsidies for coal and natural gas power plants but President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who needs to sign the bill to enact it into law, is expected to veto the additions for fossil energy.
The regulation will apply to all projects located off the Brazilian coast, including territorial waters, the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
According to the incoming law, offshore wind development rights may be granted through authorisation or concession.
Through the authorisation process, the government identifies areas based on the request of an interested party and organises a public call. In the concession process, the government defines the areas identified by a relevant governmental agency and puts them up for bidding through a public tender.
