(TN) In the coming years, Rio Grande do Norte should become one of the main locations for the study and development of technologies aimed at installing offshore wind farms in the country. The statement was made by the president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, during a press conference held to detail how the company will continue its operations in the state. “We want to create an offshore wind ecosystem here. We intend to generate the conditions for people who work, study and companies that are interested in this market to live together in Rio Grande do Norte, which will generate benefits for all involved”, said Jean Paul Prates.
The company’s headquarters in the state, located in Cidade da Esperança in Natal, will house part of the activities of the Energy Transition and Sustainability Board, led by Mauricio Tolmasquim, who defended that offshore wind operations are strategic for Petrobras. “If you are stuck in the present, you miss opportunities. Making politics and strategy is looking beyond and I believe that in a few years offshore wind will be produced at much lower prices than today. We cannot stay behind”, said Tolmasquim.
In addition to Petrobras representatives, the President of the Federation of Industries of RN, Amaro Sales, and the director of SENAI in Rio Grande do Norte and of the Senai Institute of Innovation in Renewable Energies (ISI-ER), Rodrigo Mello, participated in the press conference. The press conference took place after an event held at the Federation of Industries of Rio Grande do Norte (FIERN) to mark the signing of a protocol of intentions to develop actions and strategies aimed at energy transition, renewable energies and decarbonization in Brazil.
“This agreement will pave the way for a new frontier of clean and renewable energy in Brazil, taking advantage of our country’s significant offshore wind potential and boosting our path towards a fair energy transition. Petrobras is moving forward with diligence, maintaining a focus on operating in a sustainable manner. At the same time, advancing in decarbonization and attentive to opportunities to expand its operations in new matrices such as fuels with renewable content, wind and solar energy”, emphasized Prates.
Oil industry has comparative advantage in the market
“There is no competition between offshore wind and onshore wind, because investors are different”, explained Tolmasquim, when asked about the impact of exploring the offshore modality in the country. The director also highlighted that, although the price of energy produced by offshore wind currently costs more, the trend is for a decrease, as occurred with other modalities such as solar and onshore wind. “Today, the price of offshore wind may be expensive, but the trend is to fall. In Brazil, offshore wind makes a lot of sense, because Brazil has extensive knowledge of offshore work, especially with oil. We have equipment that is common, we have expertise that can be shared, so for the oil company to explore offshore it is different from other companies, it has a comparative advantage and there is a synergy with its activity”, he said during the press conference.
The president of FIERN, Amaro Sales, highlighted during the press conference the opportunities that may arise for the national industry from the installation of offshore wind farms. He understands that the benefits can be verified in two ways: initially, through the production of materials and the generation of jobs for the construction and production of components for the installation of parks; after this period, with the cheapest energy generation that can be consumed by the industry.
Leave a Reply