Ceará currently has 86 wind farms and 2.187,9 MW of wind power

Wind energy reached the highest level with wind turbines since October last year and solar, the highest volume since the beginning of the historical series, started in 2018. New records should be achieved by the end of the year.

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With the beginning of the season of strong winds, Ceará recorded, last Sunday (30), the highest level of wind generation this year, with 1.236,5 MWmed (average megawatts). It was the highest recorded since October 8, 2019, when generation was 1.326,5 MW, the highest recorded by the National Electrical System Operator (ONS) since January 2010, when wind generation records began.

Ceará wind power plants

On the other hand, the solar plants in Ceará connected to the National Interconnected System (SIN) generated, on August 24, 73,9 MW, the highest volume of the historical series, which started in November 2018. Despite the results still in August, the expectation is that these two sources reach new records by the end of the year, either due to the increase in the intensity of the winds or the greater solar incidence, mainly in December.

“We are in the period that we call the 'harvest of the winds', which lasts until more or less November. Until then, therefore, we may have new records in the Northeast, which concentrates a large part of the wind farms in Brazil, around 80% of them ”, says Elbia Gannoum, president of the Brazilian Association of Wind Energy (Abeeólica).

“We have to consider the expected curve for the year, which is always higher generation at this time of year, with the first months of the year being smaller”, says Gannoum. “The Northeast as a whole concentrates a large part of the Brazilian potential and Ceará is a prominent part, being today the third state in terms of installed capacity”, he says.

Wind power projects depend on demand

Unlike other energy matrices, wind and solar are independent of the demand to produce, therefore, even with the drop in energy consumption, due to the economic slowdown, these matrices will continue with maximum levels of generation. Jurandir Picanço, energy consultant for the Federation of Industries of the State of Ceará (Fiec), says that wind and solar production contributes to preserving the level of hydroelectric plants and fuel for thermoelectric plants.

“Wind and solar production is done according to what is installed and the incidence of wind and sun. Regardless of demand. Therefore, renewables help to preserve other sources”, says Picanço. “In addition to being in the best wind season, we have a greater number of wind farms in operation, so we should have new records by the end of the year.”

Finally, according to data from the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), Ceará currently has 86 wind farms in operation, with an installed capacity of 2.187,9 MW. And for the coming years, it is expected to add an additional 176,4 MW to 7 projects under construction and 267,6 MW to 10 projects already contracted and with construction not yet started.