Northeast Brazil leads in wind energy and will receive billion-dollar investment for 210 GW of renewable energy.
Among the 10 largest wind farms in Brazil, nine are located in Northeast, highlighting the region as the most favorable in the country for the development of sources of renewable energy, including both wind and solar. This preference for the region is not only due to more affordable land costs compared to the South and Southeast regions, but is strongly influenced by the Northeast's unique geography.
The region benefits from ideal climatic and topographical conditions that maximize the efficiency of both wind and solar energy. This favorable scenario has led the Northeast to reach new heights in the renewable energy sector, with successive energy generation records being set month after month. This continued growth not only reinforces the Northeast's leadership position in Brazil's renewable energy sector, but also highlights the region's significant potential for the sustainable future of energy generation in the country.
Northeast will receive billion-dollar investments in wind energy
In May 2023, the Northeast was responsible for 83% of wind and solar energy generation, around 28,3 GW, which has the capacity to supply more than 30 million homes. The nine northeastern states, according to National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), already have projects under construction or awarded that total more than 100 GW in wind generation capacity, not to mention the countless that are in planning.
The Northeast will receive investments estimated at R$400 billion, with R$120 billion expected for this year 2024 alone. Currently, Brazil's energy matrix is ​​made up of 62% hydraulic and only 4,4% Solar and 11,8% wind energy , according to the national energy balance.
In 2017, it was not even half of that and the forecast is that by 2030 this share will be more than 20%, increasing even further in the following years. In research the Global Wind Atlas identified that the interior and northern coast of the Northeast, along the south of Brazil, are the places with the strongest winds in the country, which draws the attention of investors to create complexes both on land and at sea, known as offshore. Around 70% of Brazilian wind energy parks are in the Northeast and this relationship will at least maintain even after the 400 billion invested.
Northeast has a production capacity of 210 GW in wind energy
Today there are 74 official offshore wind energy projects, another way of producing energy from winds in which the turbine is located at sea, as opposed to onshore, which is located on land. Systems placed on the continent generate up to 6 MW of renewable energy per turbine and those placed at sea can reach up to 12 MW in the same period, this is because of the turbines that can be taller, where they have access to more constant winds allowing for greater stability.
Of the 74 renewable energy projects, half are in the Northeast and adding them all together, the generation potential reaches more than 210 GW. The approaches to installing turbines on the mainland and at sea present differences, involving different environmental and logistical challenges, but experts in the sector do not hesitate to state that Brazil has characteristics that can provide for the expansion of this additional form of renewable energy.
Petrobras is the largest company in offshore wind energy
According to information from the Brazilian Wind Energy Association (ABEEólica), the forecast is that the turbines will be installed at sea in the next 4 years, with this initiative potentially having a significant impact, especially in reinforcing the production of Green hydrogen in Brazil, the fuel of the future with potential for export.
Moving on to investments, only by Petrobras, seven of the 10 offshore wind energy generation projects planned for licensing with Ibama are located in the Northeast region.
The request covers three areas in Rio Grande do Norte, three in Ceará and one in Maranhão. The company targets several locations in the Northeast, covering the coast of Maranhão in an area of ​​817 km, and the Equatorial margin of Rio Grande do Norte where the Petrobras plans to develop wind farms with a combined installed capacity of 7,4 GW.
The total estimated generation capacity of these areas covering the three regions is 23 GW, consolidating Petrobras as the company with the greatest potential for generating offshore wind energy in Brazil.
