Until February this year, Brazil had installed 890 wind farms in 12 Brazilian states. They add up to 25.04 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity in commercial operation, benefiting 108.7 million inhabitants.
Of this total, 85% are in the Northeast Region. According to the Brazilian Association of Wind Energy (Abeeólica), by 2028 Brazil will have 44.78 GW of installed capacity of this type of energy, whose share in the national matrix currently reaches 13.2%. Wind already accounts for 20% of the energy generation that the country needs.
Last year, the sector broke a record of 4 GW installed and, for this year, the executive president of Abeeólica, Elbia Gannoum, expects to reach a new record, surpassing that number. “By the end of 2023, we will have 29 GW of installed capacity. This is our forecast in terms of power, and this is over BRL 28 billion, because each gigawatt of wind installed is on the order of BRL 7 billion”, said Elbia to Brazil Agency.
Another survey carried out by the entity shows the economic and social development generated by wind energy. In the Northeast, for example, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the cities where the wind farms arrived grew 21%, and the Human Development Index (HDI) also grew 20% “because of the arrival of the wind farms”. Another significant fact is that for every real invested in wind energy, R$ 2.9 are returned to the economy.
ranking
Brazil occupies since 2021 the sixth position in the ranking world in installed wind power capacity. According to Elbia, it is now more challenging for the country to surpass this mark and get closer to the top two, which are China and the United States. She considers it difficult to reach China, for example, which “Brazil grows almost a year in investment in energy”.
The executive president of the Brazilian Wind Energy Association, Elbia Gannoum – Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
From 2011 to 2020, investments in the wind sector of US$ 35.8 billion were made. These resources generated R$321 billion in the Brazilian economy, of which R$110.5 billion were direct investments in the construction of wind farms. According to Abeeólica, for each megawatt installed, 10.7 jobs are created. In the period from 2011 to 2020, almost 190,000 jobs were created in the sector.
Of the 890 parks installed in the country, 130 projects have been financed by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) since 2005, totaling 18,654 MW. Financing granted by the bank reached BRL 52.170 billion, the institution said. Companies invested R$ 94.4 billion in the period.
Wind offshore
The president of Abeeólica informed that, regarding the installation of wind farms offshore (at sea), a regulatory structure is being prepared in Brazil that will allow studies and projects to be carried out. “After this regulatory apparatus, we will have a transfer auction and, after that, we will effectively start making the projects. For this year, we intend to have the regulation completely completed in order to hold the first auctions for the assignment of the use of the sea. It is similar to the oil sector, where there are area auctions, ”he explained.
She explained that unlike wind farms onshore (on land), which have wind characteristics with prominence in the Northeast Region, in parks offshore, the presence of this type of wind occurs throughout the Brazilian coast. The determining factor is the infrastructure, because power plants offshore depend a lot on port and industry, mainly. “These are larger ports that will house the manufacture of blades, towers and wind turbines”. The nacelles are compartments installed at the top of the towers that house the entire generator mechanism.
A study released in January this year by Abeeólica identified the Pecém Complex, in Ceará; the Port of Açu, in the state of Rio de Janeiro; and the Port of Rio Grande, in Rio Grande do Sul, as the main ones in the country for park infrastructure offshore.
House of Winds
This Monday (3), the BNDES announced the approval of financing, in the amount of R$ 907 million, for the company Casa dos Ventos to implement four wind farms in Rio Grande do Norte (Ventos de Santa Luzia 11, 12 and 13 and Ventos de Santo Antônio 1). With a total installed capacity of 202.5 MW, the projects will form the Umari Wind Complex, located in the municipalities of Monte das Gameleiras, São José do Campestre and Serra de São Bento. The BNDES financing corresponds to 69% of the total planned investment of R$ 1.315 billion.
It is estimated that the power generation resulting from the project will be enough to supply around 500,000 homes, avoiding, on the other hand, the emission of 522,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO²) per year, which is equivalent to about 2 .4 million trees planted. The forecast is that the complex will enter into full commercial operation in August 2024.
The president of the BNDES, Aloizio Mercadante, highlighted that, given the current scenario of climate change and environmental catastrophe, Brazil is in a position to lead the world energy transition process towards a clean, renewable and sustainable base, where wind energy plays an important role. “Support to the wind and solar sectors helps expand the clean energy matrix, which today is around 84% in Brazil, contributes to the development of a national high-tech industry and job creation. Clean energy is a priority for BNDES, a bank that wants to be increasingly green and inclusive,” he said.
He recalled that BNDES financing approvals for wind farms correspond to 75% of the source’s installed capacity in the country. In the case of solar, this index is 38%.
