Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras informs that it has submitted a request with Ibama to start the environmental licensing process for ten areas in the Brazilian sea intended for the development of offshore wind energy projects. Of this total, seven areas are in the Northeast (three in Rio Grande do Norte, three in Ceará and one in Maranhão); two in the Southeast (one in Rio de Janeiro and one in Espírito Santo) and one in the South of the country (in Rio Grande do Sul). Together, these areas, which will be evaluated, have the potential to develop offshore wind projects with a capacity of up to 23 GW. With this, Petrobras becomes the company with the greatest potential for offshore wind power generation in Brazil in terms of capacity registered with Ibama.
The request to start licensing is a sign of Petrobras’ interest in developing its own projects, in addition to partnership projects, which continue to be a priority, such as the areas being studied jointly with Equinor. The two companies are assessing the technical, economic and environmental viability of seven offshore wind power generation projects off the Brazilian coast, with the potential to generate up to 14.5 GW, as disclosed on 03/06/2023.
It is worth noting that Petrobras is already conducting the largest wind mapping campaign in Brazil. This year, the company completes a decade of offshore wind measurements and is intensifying wind measurement campaigns in some locations in the Brazilian sea, which are fundamental for assessing the technical feasibility of future offshore wind energy installations. This is the case, for example, with six platforms located in shallow waters off the coasts of the states of Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará and Espírito Santo.
The area chosen in the state of Rio de Janeiro stands out from all the others already filed with Ibama for offshore wind projects, as it is the only one positioned at a water depth greater than 100 meters, where it is not possible to use fixed foundations, driven directly into the seabed. In this case, the installations have to be floating and their feasibility will open up possibilities for integrating and supplying energy to the company’s production platforms.
This type of request to IBAMA does not guarantee the right to the areas, which should only happen after a process to be conducted in accordance with the regulations under discussion in the National Congress.
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