Aracatu I and Aracatu II are Equinor's first two offshore wind projects in Brazil and will be installed in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo

Norwegian Equinor, the oil giant that owns oil and gas assets in Brazil, is also targeting new projects in the renewable energy sector in the country. The company has started the environmental licensing process for the installation of offshore wind farms Aracatu I and Aracatu II, on the coast of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo.

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The capacity of the wind farms is 4 GW, divided into 2 GW for each, which can be expanded to up to 2,33 GW. The plants will have 320 wind turbines, 160 for each offshore wind farm, and will be implemented approximately 20 km from the coast, reaching depths between 15 and 35 meters.

Equinor's project includes an offshore substation in each wind farm for the conversion and flow of energy to the coast of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, and another onshore substation, which will be interconnected to the electricity transmission grid.

The Aracatu I and Aracatu II power plants are Equinor's first two offshore wind projects in Brazil. The Norwegian multinational already owns assets of this universe in the United States and is also studying the development of offshore wind projects in Europe and China.

Ibama disapproves offshore wind farm project in Caucaia, Ceará

Ibama rejected the request for a preliminary license for the installation of the Caucaia offshore wind farm, owned by BI Energy, in Ceará. The 598 MW project is a partnership between the Italian company Imprese e Sviluppo and businessman Lucio Bonfim.

The venture was expected to have 48 offshore turbines and 11 semi-offshore turbines. As soon as the description of the project was not approved, the request to work on the site was filed, as it was the second time that the EIA-Rima did not approve, and Ibama will charge the cost to analyze the project. Learn more here.