April 1 (MME) The National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) approved, this Wednesday (April 1st), the resolution establishing the Guidelines for regulating Law No. 15,097/2025, on Offshore Wind Energy. The approval complies with the legal framework sanctioned in January 2025 and the deadlines established for the activities of the Offshore Wind Energy Working Group (GT-EO), instituted by the Council in October 2025.
In the process of developing the guidelines, the guidelines of the GT’s activities were considered: the Regulatory Framework, Planning and Identification of Areas, Digitization of Processes, and the Preparation of Technical Studies and Reports. It is estimated that more than 500,000 jobs will be generated by 2050, in addition to a potential of 1,200 GW in the Brazilian macro-regions: Northeast, Southeast, and South.
For the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, the new guidelines enable the advancement of offshore wind energy development. “This source is a strategic ally in the energy transition, and Brazil’s potential proves this relevance. This is another step in harnessing the national energy potential, stimulating technology, innovation, and strengthening institutional articulation,” he stated.
Among the established guidelines are criteria related to distance from the coast, considering a distance of 12 nautical miles from the baseline as an initial reference for defining the location of the prisms, allowing for revisions based on specific technical studies and the guidelines of Brazil’s Marine Spatial Planning.
In this context, it is anticipated that technical studies will be conducted by the Energy Research Company (EPE), with support from the Offshore Wind Energy Working Group, in order to assess the adequacy of this locational parameter, potentially informing its eventual revision based on technical, economic, environmental, and social criteria, thus allowing for greater regulatory flexibility and a more fluid debate within the scope of the draft decree.
The resolution also establishes that the CNPE (National Energy Policy Council) may define priority areas for the creation of prisms within the planned supply. It also establishes that the management of offshore areas will be carried out through the Single Portal for Offshore Area Management – PUG Offshore, as the instrument for centralizing and digitizing the requirements and procedures necessary to obtain the Prior Interference Declaration (DIP), with the managing entity of the Portal to be designated by decree.
The publication of the Resolution by the CNPE has a strategic impact, promoting greater institutional integration between the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), the Energy Research Company (EPE), the National Agency of Electric Energy (Aneel), the National Agency of Petroleum (ANP), the Navy, the Ministry of Ports and Airports, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, the Ministry of Tourism, and Ibama, creating an attractive business environment with legal certainty and regulatory predictability, and stimulating technological innovation and the development of the national production chain through local content rules, and promoting sustainability and territorial planning with the minimization of conflicts over the use of the sea and environmental impacts.
Next Steps
In accordance with the deliverables foreseen by the Offshore Wind Working Group, a draft regulatory decree for Law No. 15,097, of January 10, 2025, and the approval flow for the issuance of Prior Interference Declarations (DIPs) will be prepared by May 2026. A report containing a diagnosis and interministerial action plan, focusing on the design of public policies to promote investment and development of offshore wind projects in Brazil, must also be delivered.
Continuing these structuring activities for the development and utilization of offshore electricity generation, areas for bidding must be identified using the Area Selection Methodology; the PUG Offshore Portal must be operationalized by the designated institution; and a Guidelines Ordinance must be issued by the Ministry of Mines and Energy for the commencement of permanent and planned bidding processes.
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